WASHINGTON—As part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative, Deployable Energy’s demonstration reactor, Unity, successfully completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration at Idaho National Laboratory. Unity, which achieved criticality late yesterday, is the third DOE-authorized advanced reactor to go critical by the July 4th deadline set by President Trump in his May 2025 executive order. This criticality marks DOE’s fulfillment of a precedent-setting directive to reignite nuclear energy innovation in the United States. Earlier this month, Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 and Valar Atomics’ Ward 250 reactors achieved criticality under DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program, making the United States the first country in history to achieve criticality in three unique advanced microreactor designs in a single month. “Last week, I had the opportunity to see the Unity demonstration reactor firsthand and meet with the talented teams from Deployable Energy, INL and DOE whose work made this historic moment possible on the eve of our nation’s 250th anniversary,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. “America’s nuclear renaissance is underway because of President Trump’s bold vision and ambitious goals. Yesterday, we accomplished a significant milestone on a timeline many thought was unachievable. Advanced nuclear technologies like Unity will help power the next generation of American industry, strengthen our energy security, and ensure the United States remains the world’s nuclear innovation leader.” Deployable Energy completed the Unity criticality experiment under the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative, managed by the National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory. The next evolution of the Reactor Pilot Program, Nuclear Energy Launch Pad leverages DOE authorization to expeditiously certify and construct first-of-a-kind advanced nuclear technologies for demonstration. “We are proud to be a part of this historic achievement and I want to express Deployable Energy’s gratitude to the administration for setting an audacious goal to

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued two emergency orders to mitigate blackout risks in the Mid-Atlantic ahead of the region’s predicted record-breaking peak loads brought on by the forecasted hot weather conditions. The first order directs PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM) to dispatch specified units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability. The second order authorizes PJM, in collaboration with its Transmission Owners and Electric Distribution Companies, to direct backup generation resources to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3 or during an EEA 3. The orders were issued pursuant to applications from PJM submitted on June 27 and 29, 2026. “Maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure power in the PJM service territory is non-negotiable,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “The previous administration’s energy subtraction policies weakened the grid, leaving Americans more vulnerable during events like this. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are reversing those failures and using every available tool ensuring Americans in the Mid-Atlantic have continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power and cool their homes.” DOE estimates more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide. On day one, President Trump declared a national energy emergency after the Biden administration’s energy subtraction agenda left behind a grid increasingly vulnerable to blackouts. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment, the peak electricity demand in PJM occurs during the summer season. It further notes that “if extreme high temperatures are experienced, PJM anticipates the need for demand-response resources to help reduce load.” Power outages cost the American people $44 billion per year, according to data from DOE’s National Laboratories. These orders will mitigate the possibility of power outages in the Mid-Atlantic and highlight the commonsense policies of the Trump Administration to ensure Americans have access to

Equinor Energy AS and partners will invest more than 4 billion krone ($400 million) in a new subsea development to increase gas production from Troll field in the North Sea. The Troll West Increased gas recovery North (TWIN) expansion—the third step of Troll Phase 3, which produces gas from the Troll West reservoir—could come online as early as 2028, said Gunnar Nakken, Equinor’s senior vice-president for projects and subsea Norway. TWIN is expected to contribute around 11 billion standard cu m of gas. “By simplifying, increasing standardization and reusing existing infrastructure and equipment, we are reducing costs and enabling faster production,” he said. Equinor aims to produce 1.3 million b/d from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in 2035 to meet a portion of Europe’s energy needs. Troll field contains about 40% of NCS total gas reserves, with gas from Troll meeting around 10% of Europe’s gas needs. The TWIN project consists of two wells in a template and a pipeline connected to existing subsea infrastructure. The umbilical and MEG line will be extended to the new development. The second step of Troll Phase 3 is expected to come online this year, continuing production from Troll A platform, 80 km northwest of Bergen, Norway, and the Gassco-operated Kollsnes processing plant towards 2030, Equinor said. Equinor is operator of the project with 30.55% interest. Partners are Petoro AS (55.93%), A/S Norske Shell (8.19%), TotalEnergies EP Norge AS (3.69%), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (1.64%).

The proposed 7.5-million tonne/year (tpy) Zululand Energy Terminal (ZET) at the Port of Richards Bay, South Africa, has invited expressions of interest (EOI) from engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors for development of planned LNG regasification infrastructure. Imported natural gas is expected to supply both industry and power generation. Phase 1 of the project will use a 170,000-cu m floating storage unit attached to 3 million tpy of onshore regasification capacity. Phase 2 will add 220,000 cu m of onshore storage (potentially replacing the FSU) and 4.5 million tpy of regasification.  ZET hopes to complete detailed engineering during 2027 to reach final investment decision in 2028 and start operations in 2030. Reuters reported last week that ExxonMobil Corp. had signed a preliminary deal to supply LNG to ZET. Developed as a joint between Vopak Terminal Durban and Transnet Pipelines, ZET project is expected to be South Africa’s first LNG terminal. The consortium will design, develop, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the terminal in the South Dunes Precinct at the Port of Richards Bay over a 25-year concession. EPC execution will be subject to ZET’s localization and economic development objectives. Successful contractors will be expected to support local supplier participation, skills development, and the use of local labor. Qualifying parties will be included in the project’s vendor database and may be shortlisted for subsequent phases as potential preferred contractors or subcontractors. The EOI submission window closes July 9, 2026. Interested contractors are invited to access the full EOI documentation here. South African utility Eskom and ZET earlier this month signed a head of agreement (HOA) establishing the framework for a long-term strategic partnership to support South Africa’s gas-to-power program, underpinning a planned 3-Gw power plant near the terminal in KwaZulu-Natal. Vopak Terminal Durban is owned by Royal Vopak and Reatile Group

REDUC’s fist soybean oil-based SAF sale Announcement of FID on the RPBC renewables plant followed Petrobras’ June 17 confirmation that its 239,000-b/d Duque de Caxias (REDUC) refinery in the Baixada Fluminense area of Rio de Janeiro had completed first production and sale of a first 3,800-cu m batch of SAF made from soybean oil certified under the CORSIA low Land Use Change (ILUC) risk standard, which verifies sustainability criteria and a lower risk of impact on new land areas. Produced via co-processing and featuring 1% renewable content, the SAF batch marked “commercialization of the world’s first SAF made from certified low-ILUC-risk soy [to demonstrate] Petrobras’s commitment to sustainability, the energy transition, and the development of products aligned with market and societal demands [for lower-carbon solutions],” said Angélica Laureano, Petrobras’ director of logistics, sales, and markets. In October 2025, the REDUC refinery secured Brazil’s first international approval to advance commercial-scale production of SAF via the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) co-processing route complying with ISCC System GmbH’s International Sustainability Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards, validating that SAF produced at the site meets the highest international sustainability and lifecycle carbon emission standards. Developed under ICAO’s CORSIA, the ISCC CORSIA certification was a prerequisite for commercial-scale SAF production following rigorous assessment of the production’s lifecycle carbon emissions and traceability. Equipped to produce as much as 10,000 b/d of SAF using a blend of conventional petroleum and up to 1.2% renewable feedstock, REDUC’s integration of bio-based oils—such as vegetable oil—into existing refining infrastructure via the HEFA co-processing method allows the refinery to produce SAF alongside conventional jet fuel with minimal investment, Petrobras previously said.

Equinor Energy AS and partners will invest about NOK 4 billion ($410 million) in the new Troll West increased gas recovery north (TWIN) subsea development in Troll field in the North Sea. The TWIN project consists of two wells in a template and a pipeline connected to existing subsea infrastructure. The umbilical and monoethylene glycol line will be extended to the new development. The project is expected to contribute about 11 billion std cu m of gas to Troll. It is the third step of Troll Phase 3, which produces gas from the Troll West reservoir. Recoverable reserves from Troll Phase 3, mainly gas, are estimated at 2.2 billion boe. In accordance with the Petroleum Act, the partnership will now send an announcement to the Ministry of Energy concerning the development. An environmental impact assessment has been carried out. Troll, which supplies as much as 10% of Europe’s daily demand for gas, contains about 40% of the total gas reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf and was developed in phases, with gas extraction from Troll Øst in Phase 1 and oil from Troll West in Phase 2. The oil in Troll West is produced from multiple subsea templates tied into Troll B and Troll C via pipelines. Production from the Troll C installation started in 1999. Troll C is also used for production from Fram, Fram H-Nord, and Byrding. Several amended development plans were approved in connection with installing multiple subsea templates on Troll West. Equinor Energy AS is operator of TWIN (30.55%) with partners Petoro AS (55.93%), A/S Norske Shell (8.19%), TotalEnergies EP Norge AS (3.69%), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (1.64%).