Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments will investigate the prime contractor of the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., for allowing “an unauthorized bluetooth-enabled electronic device” into an area where such devices are prohibited, according to a letter dated March 22 and published this week on the DOE’s website. The incident occurred in […]

As expected, the Department of Energy said this week it plans to issue a six-month contract extension to Atkins-led Mid-America Conversion Services for operation of depleted uranium conversion facilities at former gaseous diffusion plants in Kentucky and Ohio. DOE’s justification for going without competitive bids said the extension would run from April 1 through Sept. […]

The Department of Energy will “move with alacrity” to jumpstart a new civilian uranium refining industry once Congress bans imports of Russian uranium to unlock billions in funding, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told lawmakers today. “[H]opefully we can get that ban in place,” Granholm said during the first DOE budget hearing of the year […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration last week solicited bids for a one-year study about a pilot plant to test defense uranium-enrichment technology developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Bids are due April 15, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) wrote in a procurement notice posted online March 15 for the firm-fixed-price NNSA Domestic Uranium […]

The story “NNSA seeks study contractor for effort to mature Oak Ridge defense refining tech” [Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, March, 19, 2024] should have said that the National Nuclear Security Administration is developing uranium enrichment technology and that the agency has enough low enriched uranium to meet defense needs through the 2040s.

The Department of Energy will “move with alacrity” to jumpstart a new civilian uranium refining industry once Congress bans imports of Russian uranium to unlock billions in funding, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told lawmakers today. “[H]opefully we can get that ban in place,” Granholm said during the first DOE budget hearing of the year […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday solicited bids for a one-year study about a pilot plant to test defense uranium-enrichment technology developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Bids are due April 15, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) wrote in a procurement notice posted online for the firm-fixed-price NNSA Domestic Uranium Enrichment Pilot […]

The story “NNSA to help fund  Shine Technologies new medical isotope production facility” [Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, March 07, 2024] should have said that the Department of Energy in 2021 effectively ended exports of highly enriched uranium to foreign manufacturers of molybdenum-99.

Two marquee events for the nuclear waste and energy industries were scheduled to begin next week in separate cities, with the Waste Management Symposia on the slate in Phoenix and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference set to kick off near agency headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among others, Paul Murray, deputy assistant secretary […]

The NNSA intends to grant SHINE Technologies cost-share funding to build and operate a new facility for producing the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) without the use of highly-enriched uranium, according to a March 4 filing in the Federal Register. The agency filed an unpublished version of the decision last week. SHINE received a construction permit for […]

The NNSA intends to grant SHINE Technologies cost-share funding to build and operate a new facility for producing the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) without the use of highly-enriched uranium, according to a March 4 filing in the Federal Register. The agency filed an unpublished version of the decision last week. SHINE received a construction permit […]

Atkins-led Mid-America Conversion Services has 30 days to contest $382,500 in Department of Energy fines stemming from allegations that the contractor failed to ensure a crane used in Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio was maintained in a safe manner. The contractor “has not acknowledged these nuclear safety deficiencies, they have […]

A small bipartisan group in the House released a foreign aid bill with new border security policies and war aid for Ukraine, but no stimulus funds for domestic uranium enrichment. The roughly $66-billion bill filed Feb. 15 by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is a counterproposal to the roughly $95-billion foreign aid bill the Senate passed, […]

A small bipartisan group in the House released a foreign aid bill with new border security policies and war aid for Ukraine, but no stimulus funds for domestic uranium enrichment. The roughly $66-billion bill filed Feb. 15 by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is a counterproposal to the roughly $95-billion foreign aid bill the Senate, also […]

A small bipartisan group in the House released a foreign aid bill with new border security policies and war aid for Ukraine, but no stimulus funds for domestic uranium enrichment. The roughly $66-billion bill sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is a counterproposal to the roughly $95-billion foreign aid bill the Senate passed on Thursday, […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority extended a contract for defense uranium processing with BWX Technologies subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services, the company announced Wednesday. Under the two year, $122-million extension, Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Tenn., will continue converting highly enriched uranium into low-enriched uranium for use in National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nuclear weapons programs until June […]

The House of Representatives was in no rush this week to consider a Ukraine aid package that also provides billions to jumpstart a domestic uranium enrichment industry, the Speaker of the House said. “We are not going to be forced into action by the Senate,” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the speaker, said Wednesday in a […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority extended a contract for defense uranium processing with BWX Technologies subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services, the company announced Wednesday. Under the two year, $122-million extension, Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Tenn., will continue converting highly enriched uranium into low-enriched uranium for use in National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nuclear weapons programs until June […]

The Senate on Tuesday passed a national security appropriations package that would boost the Department of Energy’s radiological safety efforts in Ukraine and seed a new commercial uranium refining industry. The bill includes $2.7 billion for DOE contracts that could help the federal government acquire high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), plus about $150 million for […]

With the Department of Energy still unable to provide needed storage containers, Centrus Energy will not be able to deliver 900 kilograms of high-assay, low-enriched uranium to the U.S. government this year, the company said Friday. The company can make the material, Chief Executive Officer Amir Vexler said Friday on an earnings call with investors […]

Former and current Department of Energy contractors at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio have filed an unopposed motion in federal court seeking until Feb. 26 to answer a complaint by a local resident who blames his leukemia on radioactive contamination from the property. The motion, seeking three weeks beyond the original Feb. 5 deadline, was […]

The Senate on Thursday cleared a hurdle to vote on a bill that would fund the Department of Energy’s planned jumpstart of a new commercial uranium refining industry. Senators on Thursday voted 67-32 to end debate on the bill, clearing the way for a final floor vote that had not been scheduled as of Friday […]

Former and current Department of Energy contractors at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio have filed an unopposed motion in federal court seeking until Feb. 26 to answer a complaint by a local resident who blames his leukemia on radioactive contamination from the property. The motion, seeking three weeks beyond the original Feb. 5 deadline, was […]

A bipartisan border control bill published by the Senate over the weekend would provide $2.7 billion to jumpstart a new domestic, commercial uranium enrichment and fuel-making industry. In a statement posted Sunday to the website X, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the bill would not pass his chamber. Aside from the […]

The Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio plans to extend by up to a year an existing business deal with a New Mexico-based uranium enrichment services company, according to a federal online procurement notice. DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office plans to extend the existing agreement with Louisiana Energy Services, so that it expires on Feb. […]

The Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio plans to extend by up to a year an existing business deal with a New Mexico-based uranium enrichment services company, according to a federal online procurement notice. DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office plans to extend the existing agreement with Louisiana Energy Services, so that it expires on Feb. […]

Funding for the Department of Energy’s effort to rebuild a commercial U.S. uranium refining industry is hung up in a debate over a supplemental spending bill between House Republicans and the White House.  In remarks to reporters this week before and after a meeting at the White House, Speaker of the House Rep. Michael Johnson […]

A virtual pre-solicitation meeting attracted 52 people representing 23 companies interested in a potential Department of Energy contract for technical services at the Paducah Site in Kentucky and the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The following companies had individuals who signed up to learn more about draft solicitation for Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Technical Support Services:  […]

The Department of Energy on Tuesday solicited bids for a contract under which it could acquire up to 145 metric tons of high assay low-enriched uranium to help commercialize nuclear reactors that need the fuel. Under the contract, only U.S.-based companies will be allowed to perform the final step of enriching to the high assay […]

The Department of Energy on Tuesday solicited bids for a contract under which it could acquire up to 145 metric tons of high assay low-enriched uranium to help commercialize nuclear reactors that need the fuel. Under the contract, only U.S.-based companies will be allowed to perform the final step of enriching to the high assay […]