News and press releases

Here you will find the contact details of our press officers as well as news and press releases.

GRS seeks to provide clear and careful communication. Our demands on the comprehensibility and quality of information are based on the Guidelines for good science PR.

Results 1 to 10 from total 59
Brennstoffkugel für einen Hochtemperaturreaktor
The pebble bed reactor at the Shidaowan nuclear power plant - an inherently safe reactor?
Published 11. October 2024

The Chinese Shidaowan nuclear power plant recently made the headlines in Germany: According to a paper published in the scientific journal Joule, tests are said to have proven that a core meltdown accident in the world's first commercially operated pebble bed reactor has been ruled out and that it is therefore ‘inherently safe’. This article describes how this type of reactor works, what follows from the experiment, and what safety challenges may nevertheless arise.

News
Prozesstechnik-Konzept für künstliche neuronale Netze
AI technologies for more efficient dismantling of nuclear power plants
Published 10. September 2024

With the shutdown of the last German nuclear power plants, the decommissioning of these installations is now at the centre of attention. However, the impending shortage of skilled labour poses major challenges for the industry. Experts from GRS are therefore working with their partners in a research project that has just been launched to train specialists more efficiently in the future and to promote young talent in a more targeted manner: A hybrid learning platform with VR and AR elements and an innovative AI application are intended to optimise dismantling processes and prepare the industry for the future. In addition, a digital platform is being developed to make licensing processes more transparent and efficient.

Press release
Dr Florence-Nathalie Sentuc new Technical and Scientific Director of GRS
Published 15. August 2024

The Supervisory Board of Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH has appointed Dr Florence-Nathalie Sentuc as the new Technical and Scientific Director of GRS with effect from 15 August 2024. She succeeds Uwe Stoll, who held this position at GRS for the past eight years.

Press release
Kernkraftwerk vor vertrockneten Sonnenblumen
Built close to water – do increasing droughts and hot spells affect nuclear power plants?
Published 31. July 2024

In connection with the current global warming, periods of heat and drought are also occurring more frequently in Europe, which has an impact, among other things, on water availability and temperature. This, in turn, also has an impact on the operation of nuclear power plants: Nuclear reactors in Belgium, France and Switzerland have already had to reduce their output in the last summers. In Germany, too, reactors have been running at reduced capacity due to heat in recent years. But why is that so? How do heat and drought affect operation? And are these effects relevant from a safety point of view?

News
Das Kernkraftwerk Tschernobyl von fern fotografiert mit dem New Safe Confinementt
Chernobyl: The nuclear accident showing effects to this day
Published 17. April 2024

On 26 April 1986, the most serious nuclear accident since the beginning of the use of nuclear energy occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Due to a series of operating errors and the special features of the reactor type, the power output rose sharply (causing the coolant to suddenly vaporise), the reactor core was completely destroyed and the graphite it contained caught fire. Around eight tonnes of radioactive fuel were released into the environment. To this day, there is an exclusion zone within a radius of 30 kilometres. The following article explains what happened on site during last year and how GRS supported the work there.

News
Lagerbecken in La Hague
La Hague reprocessing plant: expansion and continued operation until at least 2100
Published 12. March 2024

Last week, the Élysée Palace confirmed that the French reprocessing plant at La Hague is to be expanded. Extensive investments are planned in this context. There have already been plans since 2020 to build another storage pool on the plant site. At La Hague, there is still radioactive waste from Germany, which may be returned this year.

News
Eine Frau hält ein Handy in der Hand, auf dem die neue GRS-App Radon-Dosis zu sehen ist
Radiation protection: New GRS app helps to categorise radiation exposure from radon
Published 04. March 2024

In Germany, around 1.1 million people live in so-called radon-prone areas. In these regions, a high radon concentration can be expected in significantly more buildings than the national average. The new GRS "Radon Dose" app estimates the personal radiation dose at the places of residence and work, based on measured or estimated radon levels.

News
Wachkabinen bei der Werksabnahme
Physical protection of nuclear facilities in Ukraine - insights into the work of German-Ukrainian cooperation
Published 23. February 2024

The Russian invasion is affecting the lives and safety of people in Ukraine on many levels. With the capture of the nuclear power plant sites at Chernobyl - which is now back under Ukrainian control - and Zaporizhia, nuclear facilities have also been included in the hostilities and have therefore increasingly become the focus of public attention. GRS has been in close professional contact with Ukrainian partner organisations for decades, whereby the security of the facilties, i.e. their physical protection, also plays a role. On behalf of the Federal Foreign Office, GRS is working with Ukrainian and national partners to implement specific measures that contribute to improving the security of the facilities there.

News
Dr. Stephan Theimer bei einer Werksabnahme
„Everything must be done to ensure that nuclear facilities are not the subject of military conflicts.“
Published 23. February 2024

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, GRS has been working with Ukrainian partners to strengthen the security of nuclear facilities in the country. The projects are funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (AA). In our interview, Dr Stephan Theimer, who heads one of these projects, talks about the challenges that the war poses for day-to-day work, what the current situation means for the security of the facilities, and what he would like to see in future cooperation.

News
Abbruch und Neubau eines KKW
Nuclear energy worldwide 2024
Published 15. February 2024

What happened last year in the field of nuclear energy? What developments can be observed internationally? The following overview shows the situation broken down by continent (Europe, America, Asia and Africa). Australia/Oceania is not included, as no nuclear power plants are operated there. After a brief summary, those countries are presented for each continent which either operate reactors or which are planning to start or are already building NPPs.

News
Results 1 to 10 from total 59