Daily Digest for

Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies, led by the California Earthquake Authority as Wildfire Fund Administrator, to expedite analysis and recommendations to stabilize the insurance and utility sectors and fairly allocate catastrophe recovery costs. The order accelerates work related to SB 254 and directs a report on new catastrophe-response approaches due in April 2026, with a call for stakeholder contributions.

Framatome and Standard Nuclear formed a joint venture, Standard Nuclear-Framatome (SNF), to supply commercial TRISO fuel with an initial target of 2 metric tons per year and planned manufacturing start in 2027 pending regulatory approvals. Framatome submitted a 10 CFR Part 70 license amendment for its Richland, Washington facility in September 2024, accepted for review and expected to be finalized in spring 2026.

Framatome and Standard Nuclear formed a reactor-agnostic joint venture, Standard Nuclear‑Framatome (SNF), to produce commercial TRISO fuel and advanced reactor products with a target of 2 metric tons of TRISO fuel per year and planned manufacturing start in 2027 pending approvals. Framatome submitted a 10 CFR Part 70 license amendment for its Richland, Washington facility to the U.S. NRC in September 2024, accepted for review and expected to be finalized by Spring 2026.

Imperial College London and BASF published a report detailing intensified efforts to commercialise joint research into lower-energy chemical manufacturing, continuous production at smaller scales, and AI optimisation. The partnership (active since 2019), supported by EPSRC under the IConIC programme and partners including Almac, Siemens and METTLER TOLEDO, has also launched the startup SOLVE Chemistry to offer hardware and AI-based manufacturing solutions.

The European Commission and EUROCONTROL launched NEATS, a new IT tool for monitoring, reporting and verifying non-CO2 aviation climate impacts, with v1 available now for aircraft operators to register and upload primary data. Versions 2 and 3 are planned by the end of the year to add business validation, expanded reporting and dedicated interfaces for operators, verifiers and competent authorities.

President Putin met with Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin to review the Infrastructure for Life project; Khusnullin said the state will build more than 100 million sq m of housing and has agreements for improvements in 2,160 core communities with targets through 2030 and 2036. He reported road works up 21% year-on-year, the opening of the Dyurtyuli–Achit section, and that the regional loan portfolio rose from 10 billion to 175 billion rubles while preferential mortgage interest-rate subsidies continue.

Two UK-built HydroGNSS microsatellites, built by SSTL and funded with €30 million from the UK Space Agency via ESA’s FutureEO programme, have arrived in California and are preparing for launch later this year on a Falcon 9. The twin satellites will use GNSS reflectometry from 500–600 km orbits (180° apart) to measure soil moisture, inundation, freeze/thaw state and above-ground biomass, plus secondary products such as wind speed and sea-ice extent.

SINTEF and NTNU, with Statnett and Elvia, report that thermally upgraded, nitrogen-infused insulation paper can double transformer lifespans and halve replacement needs, implying potential savings of about 25 billion NOK (≈€2.1bn) based on ~1,300 large transformers bought over 25 years. The underlying research cost 42 million NOK (≈€3.6m); the upgraded paper also allows ~8°C higher operating temperature and an estimated ~5% capacity increase.

The EIB Board adopted phase two of the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap in Cyprus, which includes doubling climate adaptation financing to €30 billion for 2026–2030 and a programme of radical simplification to speed green investment. The roadmap builds on over €560 billion supported since 2020 and includes commitments such as €11 billion for energy grids, a €17 billion SME energy-efficiency initiative, and TechEU mobilising €250 billion by 2027.