Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

Urenco USA completed the installation of its sixth new cascade at the National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico, hitting the 75% completion mark in its enrichment expansion plan.  Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European company Urenco, said in a press release the production of the sixth cascade began Oct. 8. The company expects to […]

X-energy’s nuclear fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, completed the vertical construction of its first fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the company said Sept. 24. With the primary building of the 214,000-square-foot structure up, X-energy said in a press release that its subsidiary is going to move forward with the next stage of work that includes […]

BWXT Technologies (BWXT) sees a potential multibillion-dollar opportunity as the U.S. government rebuilds domestic nuclear-fuel capabilities for national security, including enrichment capacity and production of unobligated uranium, company executives said during a Sept. 29 investor day. The company is currently working under a roughly $1.5 billion National Nuclear Security Administration contract to develop capabilities for […]

X-energy’s nuclear fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, completed the vertical construction of its first fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the company said Sept. 24. With the primary building of the 214,000-square-foot structure up, X-energy said in a press release that its subsidiary is going to move forward with the next stage of work that includes […]

Framatome signed a commercial contract this week that allows it to provide nuclear fuel reload with uranium-235 over the industry standard of 5% to an operating reactor, which was not named in the release. According to the company’s Monday press release, within the agreement, Framatome will provide a number of higher enriched fuel reloads using […]

The New Mexico State Land Office issued an executive order Sept. 4 that would ban any new uranium mining activities in the state. The order, issued by New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, pushes for the state agency to prioritize nuclear cleanup at legacy uranium sites, according to a press statement. It will also […]

Centrus Energy and Antares Nuclear signed a multi-year agreement Thursday where Centrus will provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to Torrance, Calif.-based microreactor developer. In the span of two months, Centrus signed its third HALEU supply contract with an advanced reactor company with Radiant Nuclear last week and X-energy in August. Centrus said in a press […]

Centrus Energy and Antares Nuclear signed a multi-year agreement Thursday where Centrus will provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to Torrance, Calif.-based microreactor developer. In the span of two months, Centrus signed its third HALEU supply contract with an advanced reactor company with Radiant Nuclear last week and X-energy in August. Centrus said in a press […]

The New Mexico State Land Office issued an executive order Sept. 4 that would ban any new uranium mining activities in the state. The order, issued by New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, pushes for the state agency to prioritize nuclear cleanup at legacy uranium sites, according to a press statement. It will also […]

NANO Nuclear and Enveniam signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to collaborate on building out a nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure and deploying NANO’s microreactor technology.  Enveniam, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is a project integration solutions company that works in various areas of the energy sector, including nuclear energy. New York-based NANO is an advanced […]

Centrus Energy and Radiant Nuclear agreed to a long-term deal where Centrus will provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for Radiant’s incoming fuel needs following its Janus program selection. The Army’s Janus program awarded Radiant with $750 million to construct its Kaleidos microreactor at Fort Benning in Georgia and develop 15 microreactors across several military installations. […]

West Virginia has been selected as a finalist to host a nuclear campus under a high-profile Department of Energy program Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) announced in a Tuesday press conference. West Virginia is now the sixth state to be considered for a nuclear lifecycle innovation campus, joining Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah, which were […]

WASHINGTON – The advanced nuclear technology sector likes the idea of used fuel reprocessing, but is still trying to figure out the economics of it, a House Science, Space and Technology Committee panel heard last week.  Several nuclear industry specialists testified before the House Science’s Energy subcommittee about the direction of the domestic advanced reactor […]

Centrus Energy and Radiant Nuclear agreed to a long-term deal where Centrus will provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for Radiant’s incoming fuel needs following its Janus program selection. The Army’s Janus program awarded Radiant with $750 million to construct its Kaleidos microreactor at Fort Benning in Georgia and develop 15 microreactors across several military installations. […]

North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex capable of housing up to 28 centrifuge cascades, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in an Aug. 28 report. The IAEA identified a new two-story building at Yongbyon as the site’s second uranium enrichment facility by comparing satellite imagery with […]

West Virginia has been selected as a finalist to host a nuclear campus under a high-profile Department of Energy program Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) announced in a Tuesday press conference. West Virginia is now the sixth state to be considered to host a nuclear lifecycle innovation campus, joining Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah, which […]

North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex capable of housing up to 28 centrifuge cascades, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in an Aug. 28 report. The IAEA identified a new two-story building at Yongbyon as the site’s second uranium enrichment facility by comparing satellite imagery with […]

Centrus Energy and Radiant Nuclear agreed to a long-term deal where Centrus will provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for Radiant’s incoming fuel needs following its Janus program selection. The Army’s Janus program awarded Radiant with $750 million to construct its Kaleidos microreactor at Fort Benning in Georgia and develop 15 microreactors across several military installations. […]

The Department of Energy’s national laboratories as well as the National Nuclear Security Administration have made use of uranium oxide produced by conversion plants at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Paducah Site in Kentucky. That was one of the takeaways from an Aug. 20 meeting of the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board, according to […]

Ur-Energy completed its first shipment of uranium from its Shirley Basin uranium mine to its Lost Creek processing facility in Wyoming, the company said in an Aug. 20 press release. Casper, Wyo.-based Ur-Energy previously announced plans to begin mining uranium at its Shirley Basin site in April and received authorization from the Wyoming Department of […]

Indianapolis-based First American Nuclear Company (FANCO) has submitted what it calls a “regulatory engagement plan” with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility. FANCO said in its Aug. 17 press release it plans to make its own fuel, using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), for its 240-megawatt EAGL-1 lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled fast small […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is planning roughly $140 billion in uranium enrichment efforts through 2105, but has not provided Congress with required cost information, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. NNSA’s current inventory of low-enriched uranium and highly enriched uranium is expected to meet national security requirements into the 2040s, […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is planning roughly $140 billion in uranium enrichment efforts through 2105, but has not provided Congress with required cost information, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. NNSA’s current inventory of low-enriched uranium and highly enriched uranium is expected to meet national security requirements into the 2040s, GAO […]

Urenco USA held a groundbreaking ceremony, attended by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, for the planned expansion of its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M. Tuesday. The company announced multi-billion-dollar plans in June to expand its New Mexico enrichment facility by almost 50% to meet growing domestic enrichment needs. Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European […]

Earnings rose at Centrus Energy, Bethesda, Md., in the second quarter, which the uranium broker and enrichment technology developer attributed to the timing and mix of nuclear fuel sales and continued progress on its uranium enrichment expansion. Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were approximately $16.8 million, or about $0.85 a share, […]

X-energy and Centrus Energy have signed a definitive agreement for Centrus to supply low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for X-Energy’s advanced reactor fuel on Aug. 6. The Rockville, Md.-based advanced small modular reactor (SMR) said in a press release that the agreement would help de-risk its Xe-100 SMR projects and supply HALEU […]

John Kirkpatrick, Urenco USA’s managing director, is stepping down from his position in the fall, Urenco USA said Thursday in announcing several management changes. Kirkpatrick has been with Urenco USA since 2024. According to the company’s press release,  With his departure, the company has appointed Jody Blackshear, its current enrichment director at Urenco’s uranium enrichment […]

The Department of Energy has conditionally selected Radiant Nuclear and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Thursday to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). This round of HALEU allocations, under DOE’s HALEU Availability Program, will support NASA’s Space Reactor-1 (SR-1) Freedom mission, which aims to take a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars, and Radiant’s microreactor, Kaleidos, […]

Two California Democrats used a House subcommittee hearing this week to advance legislation on nuclear fuel recycling.  On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce’s Energy subcommittee held a markup hearing for six nuclear energy-related bills. Multiple bills pertained to codifying changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing processes. All six were successfully advanced out of […]

X-Energy received $11 million from the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Fund Wednesday to support TRISO-X’s, X-Energy’s subsidiary, tri-structural isotropic – or TRISO fuel fabrication facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The $11 million award comes from the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Fund, also referred to as the Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Investment Fund, which is designed to to […]