National Laboratories
Coverage of DOE’s 17 national laboratories and their science, energy, and national security missions — from basic research to applied programs, including their expanding role in AI-driven initiatives.
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National Laboratories
East Tennessee is primed for more nuclear opportunities, panel says
KNOXVILLE, TENN. – East Tennessee could become a nuclear industry hub, several state officials said at a conference here Wednesday. That was a central theme in an afternoon panel discussion of regional business opportunities at the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) annual Business Opportunities and Technical Conference. Tennessee Department Economic and Community Development […]
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National Laboratories
DNFSB urges more LANL safety, voices concern over Y-12 in NNSA welcome letter
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) hopes Brandon Williams, the newly confirmed administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will prioritize a list of safety challenges that the board wrote him about last month. “Congratulations on your confirmation as Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)!” the nation’s nuclear safety watchdog started its […]
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Budget & Policy
House Dems “urgently demand” end to furloughs as labs send workers home
House lawmakers condemned the furloughs of 1,400 of DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) workers in a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and NNSA administrator Brandon Williams. “As Secretary Wright noted in his press availability in Las Vegas, furloughing NNSA employees has never happened before. Government shutdowns, however, have occurred throughout the […]
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National Laboratories
Los Alamos County approves gross receipt tax increase, LANL director disapproves
Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, said last week a County Council vote to raise the gross receipts tax to close a budget shortfall would hinder economic growth. The Los Alamos County Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to increase the gross receipts tax (GRT) in Los Alamos by 0.625%, effective July 1, 2026, […]
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National Laboratories
DNFSB urges more LANL safety, voices concern over Y-12 in NNSA welcome letter
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) hopes Brandon Williams, the newly confirmed administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will prioritize a list of safety challenges that the board wrote him about last month. “Congratulations on your confirmation as Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)!” the nation’s nuclear safety watchdog started its […]
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National Laboratories
NNSA partners with HPE and NVIDIA for two new supercomputers
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Tuesday its Los Alamos National Laboratory selected tech companies Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and NVIDIA to develop and deploy two new supercomputers. The two computers, named “Mission” and “Vision,” will be used for modeling and simulations at the lab. “Mission” will be used to assist NNSA research without […]
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Budget & Policy
House Dems “urgently demand” end to furloughs as labs send workers home
House lawmakers condemned the furloughs of 1,400 of DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) workers in a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and NNSA administrator Brandon Williams. “As Secretary Wright noted in his press availability in Las Vegas, furloughing NNSA employees has never happened before. Government shutdowns, however, have occurred throughout the […]
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Budget & Policy
EnergySec thanks Cortez Masto for vote, says ‘virtually all’ NNSS fed employees furloughed
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, in a press conference Monday in Nevada., said all of the federal employees at Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) had been furloughed. Wright spoke in two press conferences in Nevada Monday, one being in Las Vegas and one being at the physical site of NNSS in Mercury, Nev. north of […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Idaho lab’s IWTU to remain offline into 2026
Already offline for most of 2025, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, will remain out of service until early 2026, a DOE spokesperson said this week. After DOE and Amentum-led contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition returned the facility to operation July 17, the IWTU shut down five days […]
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Budget & Policy
EnergySec thanks Cortez Masto for vote, says ‘virtually all’ NNSS fed employees furloughed
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, in a press conference Monday in Nevada., said all of the federal employees at Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) had been furloughed. Wright spoke in two press conferences in Nevada Monday, one being in Las Vegas and one being at the physical site of NNSS in Mercury, Nev. north of […]
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National Laboratories
Oak Ridge industry day highlights data center potential
The Department of Energy will consider the potential return to the government when it weighs proposals for developing data centers and power plants around the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, a DOE official said during a virtual meeting Wednesday. DOE will be looking at the “financial capability” of the applicants, Marla Larson-Williams of Oak Ridge […]
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Data Centers & Energy Demand
Oak Ridge industry day highlights data center potential
The Department of Energy is holding a virtual industry day Wednesday on the potential for data center development at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The session, scheduled between 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time, will include details about a request for proposal (RFP) process for artificial intelligence-related data centers at the federal complex. […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
LANL and NNSA complete tritium container treatment
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have completed treating four flanged tritium waste containers, according to a Sept. 26 press release by the New Mexico Environment Department. The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous branch in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile informed the New Mexico Environment Department […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Navarro-led lab contractor taps new boss, operations officer
The contractor in charge of a major laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state said this week it has appointed Mark Hughey as its new general manager. Navarro-led Navarro-ATL announced it has turned to Hughey to run Hanford’s 222-S laboratory. He will replace Ray Geimer, who became manager of DOE’s Hanford […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
LANL and NNSA complete tritium container treatment
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have completed treating four flanged tritium waste containers, according to a Sept. 26 press release by the New Mexico Environment Department. The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous branch in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile informed the New Mexico Environment Department […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
LANL and NNSA complete tritium container treatment
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have completed treating four flanged tritium waste containers, according to a Sept. 26 press release by the New Mexico Environment Department. The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous branch in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile informed the New Mexico Environment Department […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Los Alamos needs more transparency with tritium venting, enviros say
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week. A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Round Up: Garrish takes oath; SRNL taps Hewit as deputy lab boss; Eni and CFS sign fusion energy based-PPA; Deep Isolation and Navarro sign licensing deal
Ted Garrish, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, will be sworn in this Friday, according to a DOE Office of Nuclear Energy spokesperson. Garrish has held the lead role of the Office of Nuclear Energy once before during the Ronald Reagan administration in the late 1980s. Garrish […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Los Alamos needs more transparency with tritium venting, enviros say
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week. A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Los Alamos needs more transparency with tritium venting, enviros say
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week. A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
NNSA updates progress on Los Alamos tritium venting
Tritium venting is complete on two of four flanged waste containers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Sunday Sept. 21. After some glitches, work was paused Sunday prior to resuming depressurization of the third flanged tritium waste container (FTWC), NNSA said in […]
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National Laboratories
Round Up: Amentum teams up with UK NWS; PNNL makes layoffs; BWXT increases nuclear isotopes production; more
Amentum has been awarded £26 million ($35 million US) under a four-year contract to provide specialist services for the UK’s nuclear waste management association. Amentum will be one of the suppliers on all four lots of the United Kingdom’s Integrated Waste Management Specialist Nuclear Services Framework, according to Amentum’s Tuesday’s press release. Under the framework, […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico monitors Los Alamos tritium venting
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will actively monitor Los Alamos National Laboratory’s controlled capture of tritium that was scheduled to start Saturday, Sept. 13. NMED has “strict safeguards and oversight in place to ensure public safety,” the state agency said Sept. 12. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is venting and capturing tritium from […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Wrap Up: BWXT taps new strategy officer; Urenco USA starts up new cascade; DOE invests in labs; NWTRB reschedules meeting; more
Rik Geiersbach was just appointed chief strategy officer for BWX Technologies and will report directly to CEO Rex Geveden, the nuclear fuel company announced Monday on its website. “As chief strategy officer, Rik will lead the development, execution and integration of BWXT’s enterprise strategy and merger and acquisition initiatives,” Geveden said in the release. “His […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Curio successfully tests nuclear fuel recycling technology in DOE labs
Curio recently announced the completion of a laboratory-scale demonstration for its nuclear fuel recycling technology, NuCycle, in collaboration with four Department of Energy National Laboratories. DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington state, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico contributed to the […]
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National Laboratories
DOE announces investment of over $35 million toward national labs
The Department of Energy announced recently it will provide over $35 million toward 42 projects with aims to advance emerging energy technologies at DOE national laboratories related to nuclear energy and artificial intelligence. The awards were made through DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund, which has a program in fiscal 2025 called the Core Laboratory Infrastructure for […]
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National Laboratories
DOE announces investment of over $35 million toward national labs
The Department of Energy announced recently it will provide over $35 million toward 42 projects with aims to advance emerging energy technologies at DOE national laboratories related to nuclear energy and artificial intelligence. The awards were made through DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund, which has a program in fiscal 2025 called the Core Laboratory Infrastructure for […]
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National Laboratories
DOE seeks data center proposals for Idaho National Lab
The Department of Energy has published a request for application seeking deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and power generation projects at its Idaho National Laboratory site. Applicants will be responsible for constructing, operating and decommissioning each infrastructure project and must secure utility interconnection agreements for new electricity generation and storage systems, according to […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico clears way for temporary Los Alamos tritium venting
For the next two weeks the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory will depressurize four Flanged Tritium Waste Containers, the lab announced. The work, which has angered tribal groups and the state of New Mexico, will start this Saturday Sept. 13, laboratory officials said in a press […]
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Data Centers & Energy Demand
DOE seeks data center proposals for Idaho National Lab
The Department of Energy has published a request for application seeking deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and power generation projects at its Idaho National Laboratory site. Applicants will be responsible for constructing, operating and decommissioning each infrastructure project and must secure utility interconnection agreements for new electricity generation and storage systems, according to […]









