France sets out long-term nuclear recycling plans

Lescure (second from left) and Le Maire (centre) pictured with La Hague Site Director Stéphanie Gaiffe (far left) and Orano CEO Nicolas Maes (on the right) during the visit (Image: Orano)Minister for the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire announced the decision to continue with France's treatment-recycling strategy for used nuclear fuel beyond 2040, with plans to extend the life of existing recycling plants and to launch studies for a new MOX fuel fabrication plant and a new used fuel processing plant.The announcement was made during a visit by Le Maire and Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy Roland Lescure to Orano's La Hague recycling site, days after France's Nuclear Policy Council (Conseil de Politique Nucléaire) said on 26 February that the country would continue with its closed nuclear fuel cycle strategy.Le Maire announced three measures that will be taken towards this goal: a sustainability/resilience programme extending the life of the La Hague and Melox recycling plants beyond 2040; the launch of studies for a new MOX fuel fabrication...

Read More........ → August 03, 2024

Private sector funding key to climate transition, World Bank chief says

WASHINGTON - The World Bank is working to slash how long it takes to get financing projects off the ground as part of a push to speed up and scale up the 79-year-old development lender, its president told AFP on Wednesday. It currently takes 27 months, on average, before "the first dollar goes out the door," Ajay Banga said in an interview in his brightly lit office in the Bank's headquarters close to the White House."If I can bring it down by one third over the first couple of years, that would be pretty good," he said. "The Bank needs to change and evolve."Banga, an Indian-born, naturalized US citizen who previously ran the payments company Mastercard, took over the management of the bank in June on a pledge to boost its lending firepower by encouraging greater private investment in the fight against climate change.In the seven months since, the 64-year-old has made some big changes, altering the development lender's mission statement to include a reference to climate change, and setting up a private sector advisory body to recommend solutions to address the "barriers to private...

Read More........ → April 02, 2024

Dubai Company Buys Used Cooking Oil to Turn Into Biofuel for Cars Citywide to Reduce CO2 Emissions

Used cooking oil collection truck and one of the biofuel production plants – Credit: Lootah BiofuelsA Dubai-based company Lootah Biofuels is producing biodiesel from used cooking oil bringing sustainable transportation options to a major oil-producing country. The result is a fuel that is less expensive, renewable, and clean. The United Arab Emirates company now boasts having their own fuel outlets across the city of Dubai, delivering 60 million liters annually. It is the brainchild of Yousif Bin Saeed Al Lootah, who wants the UAE to be the first nation in the region to mandate that biofuels blends be featured alongside other fuel in all public stations. They pay for the used cooking oil collected, thus giving an incentive to providers like restaurants, bakeries, and food chains, which provide 500,000 liters of waste oil every month. The company says it converted the waste oil into 770 tons of biofuel last year. The Lootah Biofuels website reports that used cooking oil has the highest carbon saving ratio amongst all the available biodiesel feedstock—and calculates their product...

Read More........ → March 30, 2024