Charles Digges

2 weeks ago | bellona.org | Charles Digges

Recent announcements by Russian nuclear officials that they will extend the runtimes of several Chernobyl-style RBMK nuclear reactors shed light on the difficulties Moscow is experiencing while trying to bring newer reactors online. With supply lines tripped up by sanctions and Moscow’s economy oriented toward its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, progress to replace these dinosaurs of the civilian nuclear age is plodding.

3 weeks ago | bellona.org | Charles Digges

In a decisive push for CCS deployment in Europe, CO2 storage operator Northern Lights announced on March 27 that it will increase its annual storage capacity from 1.5 to 5 million tonnes of CO2 by 2028. This step follows a major announcement by Stockholm Exergi: The Swedish energy company will invest in biogenic CO₂ capture at Värtaverket for storage on the Norwegian continental shelf.

3 weeks ago | bellona.org | Charles Digges

Days after the Trump administration floated the idea of assuming control of Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as part of the nascent peace deal the US is trying to broker between Kyiv and the Kremlin, Russia’s foreign ministry has pushed back, warning the US to keep its hands to itself. The bluntly worded statement released last week offers one of the first outright claims of ownership to the plant iterated by the Russian side since its troops overran it in early 2022.

1 month ago | bellona.org | Charles Digges

During a call between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump, the US leader reportedly floated an unusual idea—that Kyiv’s leadership consider giving ownership of Ukraine’s power plants to the US for long-term security, according to a White House statement. The idea came as a surprise to Kyiv.

1 month ago | bellona.org | Dmitry Gorchakov |Charles Digges

This piece by Bellona’s Dmitry Gorchakov originally appeared in The Moscow Times. On Feb. 24, the pro-Kremlin outlet EA Daily reported that Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom, had resumed exporting low-enriched uranium to the United States. Citing data from the procurement tracking service ImportGenius, the report said that on Feb. 12, the vessel Atlantic Navigator II delivered a total of 100 tons of enriched uranium to the port of Baltimore.