National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories has completed the second and final full-scale crash test of a next-generation transporter designed to carry U.S. nuclear weapons and other sensitive materials. The Mobile Guardian Transporter (MGT), being developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Secure Transportation, was propelled by rocket motors down Sandia’s sled track before being slammed into […]

Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) “generally met” Department of Energy requirements for site access and security badging, but an audit identified a gap involving substance abuse testing. The DOE Office of Inspector General found that SRNS, which is the prime that manages and operates the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, generally complied with […]

Carlsbad and Eddy County, N.M., the area where the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is located, is facing a week of high temperatures at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. The high Monday was expected to reach 106 degrees with a heat advisory in effect, according to […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  August: September: 9: Meeting (hybrid): Nevada Site-Specific Advisory Board meets starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time at the Molasky Corporate Center, 15th Floor Conference Room, 100 North City Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89106.  15-16: Conference: The Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop […]

A year after a new off-site research center opened, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) management is planning to put robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies into motion to reduce the Department of Energy’s $500 billion environmental cleanup projection. In an interview with Exchange Monitor, SRNL Director Johney Green said the first year of operation […]

The Department of Energy has released the first set of revised and canceled directives under an initiative aimed at reducing burdensome processes at its national laboratories, plants and sites. DOE and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Institutional Contractor Assurance Office said Aug. 13 that the Modernizing DOE Operating Directives Initiative, formerly known as Project Velocity, revised […]

Pacific Fusion and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have demonstrated the long-term operation of a next-generation pulsed-power technology, with a prototype system surpassing 3,000 electrical pulses, or “shots,” under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The achievement advances the laboratory’s prototype, named Sirius, beyond proof-of-concept and toward Technology Readiness Level 5 by […]

Pacific Fusion and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have demonstrated the long-term operation of a next-generation pulsed-power technology, with a prototype system surpassing 3,000 electrical pulses, or “shots,” under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The achievement advances the laboratory’s prototype, named Sirius, beyond proof-of-concept and toward Technology Readiness Level 5 by […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Isotope Research and Development and Production (IRP) needs to implement better practices for managing critical isotopes in the U.S. market, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said last week. In a July 23 report, GAO said IRP, a subagency in DOE’s Office of Science, which is the sole domestic supplier […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Isotope Research and Development and Production (IRP) needs to implement better practices for managing critical isotopes in the U.S. market, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said last week. In a July 23 report, GAO said IRP, a subagency in DOE’s Office of Science, is the sole domestic supplier of […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced plans Thursday for two new supercomputers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Mission and Vision supercomputers will be built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and powered by the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, NNSA said in a press release.  The Mission and Vision […]

WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will pair shared artificial intelligence infrastructure with mission-focused research challenges under the Department of Energy’s Genesis initiative, according to DOE Undersecretary of Science Dario Gil. Gil, speaking to Exchange Monitor on the sidelines of Wednesday’s Genesis Mission summit in Washington, described NNSA as a “core element” of […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced plans Thursday for two new supercomputers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Mission and Vision supercomputers will be built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and powered by the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, NNSA said in a press release.  The Mission and Vision […]

The Department of Energy renewed its contract with UChicago Argonne this week to continue to manage and operate its Argonne National Laboratory. UChicago Argonne, which manages Argonne for DOE’s Office of Science, has a new five-year contract that will go into effect on Oct. 1. UChicago Argonne, a limited liability company formed by the University […]

The Department of Energy renewed its contract with UChicago Argonne this week to continue to manage and operate its Argonne National Laboratory. UChicago Argonne, which manages Argonne for DOE’s Office of Science, has a new five-year contract that will go into effect on Oct. 1. UChicago Argonne, a limited liability company formed by the University […]

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Wednesday found the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has not fully assessed the workforce and programmatic resources needed to support planned investments in the scientific infrastructure underpinning U.S. stockpile stewardship. The report recommends that NNSA conduct a comprehensive assessment of its long-term science, technology and engineering workforce and […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) extended the deadline for the request for application (RFA) for testing at its National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility to July 17. NRIC’s DOME, which is located at INL, RFA’s original deadline was slated for June 19. This updated deadline is due […]

Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are investigating a June 15 furnace fire inside a glovebox at the laboratory’s plutonium facility after operators observed smoke and flames during recovery and purification operations. The incident prompted an emergency response but caused no injuries, radiological release or damage beyond the affected equipment, according to […]

The Department of Energy expects its artificial intelligence-focused Genesis Mission to double productivity of the nation’s research and development (R&D) enterprise over the next decade, Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said during an Amazon Web Services event. “Ultimately, we seek to double the productivity and impact of America’s trillion-dollar-a-year R&D engine within a decade,” […]

Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are investigating a June 15 furnace fire inside a glovebox at the laboratory’s plutonium facility after operators observed smoke and flames during recovery and purification operations. The incident prompted an emergency response but caused no injuries, radiological release or damage beyond the affected equipment, according to […]

The Department of Energy has approved the documented safety analysis for Oklo’s Groves Isotope test reactor in Lockhart, Texas under its reactor pilot program. This approval under DOE’s authorization for the reactor pilot program puts Oklo’s Groves test reactor into its final pre-startup phase, the operational readiness review, Oklo said in a Wednesday press release. […]

Deployable Energy’s Unity project has become the third advanced reactor to reach zero-power criticality by July 4.  Houston, Texas-based Deployable Energy, founded in 2025, achieved this milestone under the DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Initiative, which is the successor to DOE’s reactor pilot program. The Launch Pad, established in March, is based at the National […]

SANTA FE, N.M — State regulators and Department of Energy managers last week presented competing views on how to remedy a decades-old hexavalent chromium plume beneath and beyond the Los Alamos National Laboratory during a New Mexico Environment Department public meeting on ongoing efforts. The plume, linked to old power plant operations at Los Alamos […]

SANTA FE, N.M — State regulators and Department of Energy managers last week presented competing views on how to remedy a decades-old hexavalent chromium plume beneath and beyond the Los Alamos National Laboratory during a New Mexico Environment Department public meeting on ongoing efforts. The plume, linked to old power plant operations at Los Alamos […]

The Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority have agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on fusion technology. The MOU builds on the King Charles III address to the joint meeting of Congress in Washington, D.C. in April, according to the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority’s […]

The fiscal 2027 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill text, which did not give a total number for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, was released Wednesday and waits to be debated on the House floor. The bill text and any amendments submitted are available online. While the bill was scheduled to be […]

The Department of Energy has revealed its third round of selections for its Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear’s (GAIN) energy voucher program in fiscal 2026. According to DOE GAIN’s Wednesday press release, the recipients are: Aalo Atomics, based in Austin, Texas. OrganiCore Nuclear, based in New York, N.Y. Raven-Flint Nuclear Corp., based in Idaho […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) inspectors at Los Alamos National Laboratory raised concerns about staffing levels at the lab’s field office, warning that federal oversight might not keep pace with the site’s growing workload. According to a recent resident inspector report, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos, N.M. Field Office is operating […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is seeking commercial partners for a patented fire mitigation technology designed to improve safety in advanced heat-pipe nuclear reactors, according to a recent technology licensing notice. Responses are due Dec. 19, 2026, according to the Department of Energy’s June 19 notice. The technology is intended to address one […]

The Department of Energy has revealed its third round of selections for its Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear’s (GAIN) nuclear energy voucher program in fiscal 2026. According to DOE GAIN’s Wednesday press release, the recipients are: Aalo Atomics, based in Austin, Texas. OrganiCore Nuclear, based in New York, N.Y. Raven-Flint Nuclear Corp., based in […]