Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
News on domestic uranium enrichment capacity — including HALEU supply and policy — fuel fabrication, and the broader nuclear fuel supply chain serving both existing and advanced reactors.
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE releases final solicitations for next Portsmouth, Paducah contracts
The Department of Energy on Wednesday opened bidding for a pair of new long-term contracts to manage Cold War uranium-enrichment cleanup in Ohio and Kentucky, one of which includes some work for active nuclear weapons programs. The agency’s Office of Environmental Management, the nuclear-weapons cleanup steward, posted final solicitations online. The scheduled last day for […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Paducah contract with DUF4 for NNSA out for bids
The Department of Energy this week opened bidding for a pair of new long-term contracts to manage Cold War uranium-enrichment cleanup in Ohio and Kentucky, one of which includes some work for active nuclear weapons programs. The agency’s Office of Environmental Management, the nuclear-weapons cleanup steward, posted final solicitations online. The scheduled last day for […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DOE extends Centrus HALEU deal at Portsmouth into winter
The Department of Energy extended Centrus Energy Corp.’s contract to build a 16-machine enrichment cascade for advanced nuclear fuel at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio, adding six months and $12 million to the sole-source deal. DOE extended the 80/20 cost-share contract on April 20, boosting the agency’s share of the pact, awarded in 2019, […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DOE extends Centrus HALEU deal at Portsmouth into winter
The Department of Energy extended Centrus Energy Corp.’s contract to build a 16-machine enrichment cascade for advanced nuclear fuel at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio, adding six months and $12 million to the sole-source deal. DOE extended the 80/20 cost-share contract on April 20, boosting the agency’s share of the pact, awarded in 2019, […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus posts first-quarter loss; says no order cancellations yet amid Russian invasion of Ukraine; eyes LEU enrichment boom for Piketon
Centrus Energy Corp., Bethesda, Md., posted a net loss for the first quarter, when a drop in the flagship fuel brokerage business wiped out a gain from other uranium sales and the continuing steadiness of an advanced enrichment contract, now in its final days, with the Department of Energy, the company said Friday. Centrus lost […]
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Transuranic Waste
GAO says some DOE nuclear cleanup office projects still struggle
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management could improve its cost and schedule oversight for big-ticket projects such as the Hanford Site’s multi-billion-dollar Waste Treatment Plant in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said this week. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Wednesday it did a performance audit from December 2020 to April 2022 […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Senate unanimously approves extension of compensation program for sickened nuclear test participants, downwinders, uranium miners
Certain people sickened after exposure to radiation from either atmospheric nuclear-weapon tests or uranium mining would get two more years to file for government compensation if a bill passed unanimously by the Senate last week becomes law. The Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Extension Act of 2022 on Thursday, giving sickened atmospheric […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Senate unanimously approves extension of compensation program for sickened nuclear test participants, downwinders, uranium miners
Certain people sickened after exposure to radiation from either atmospheric nuclear-weapon tests or uranium mining would get two more years to file for government compensation if a bill passed unanimously by the Senate last week becomes law. The Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Extension Act of 2022 on Thursday, giving […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Portsmouth contractors rebut claims in updated complaint by locals
Key claims in a lawsuit brought by residents living in the shadow of a former gaseous diffusion plant in Ohio are barred on various grounds, including the government contractor defense, current and former Department of Energy contractors for the Portsmouth Site said last week. Defendants Centrus Energy, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth and others filed their motion April […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DOE clears delivery of U.S. HALEU for Molybdenum-99 production
Continuing the U.S. campaign to inshore production of Molybdenum-99, the Secretary of Energy this week announced she cleared the way to provide upstart domestic manufacturers of the medical isotope with up to 750 kilograms of high assay, low enriched uranium annually. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm set up the annual transfer to industry on April […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Nuclear Fuel Services to start weapons-uranium work under sole-source NNSA contract
BWX Technologies Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Tenn., will begin producing purified uranium metal for nuclear weapons under a sole-source award announced Wednesday by the National Nuclear Security Administration. “The purification and conversion capabilities provided by the Contractor shall allow for HEU [highly enriched uranium] materials of various forms (such as metal and oxide) to be […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Nuclear Fuel Services to start weapons-uranium work under sole-source NNSA contract
BWX Technologies Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Tenn., will begin producing purified uranium metal for nuclear weapons under a sole-source award announced Wednesday by the National Nuclear Security Administration. “The purification and conversion capabilities provided by the Contractor shall allow for HEU [highly enriched uranium] materials of various forms (such as metal and oxide) to be […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DOE clears delivery of U.S. HALEU for Molybdenum-99 production
Continuing the U.S. campaign to inshore production of Molybdenum-99, the Secretary of Energy this week announced she cleared the way to provide upstart domestic manufacturers of the medical isotope with up to 750 kilograms of high assay, low enriched uranium annually. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm set up the annual transfer to industry on April […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus ticks off final big milestone in sole-source HALEU contract as DOE preps competition for follow-on
Parts of Centrus’ high assay, low-enriched uranium cascade at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio were ready to operate as specified in a sole-source contract with the Department of Energy, the company said Wednesday. The 16-machine AC100M cascade was ready to start up by March 31, a company spokesperson said in an email Wednesday, except […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus ticks off final big milestone in sole-source HALEU contract as DOE preps competition for follow-on
Parts of Centrus’ high assay, low-enriched uranium cascade at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio were ready to operate as specified in a sole-source contract with the Department of Energy, the company said Wednesday. The 16-machine AC100M cascade was ready to start up by March 31, a company spokesperson said in an email Wednesday, except […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
NE top line stagnant in FY23 budget request, fuel cycle R&D gets a boost; NRC funding up
Proposed 2023 funding for the Department of Energy’s nuclear power authority, which runs the agency’s civilian nuclear waste programs, was about flat compared to 2022 appropriations, according to budget documents released this week. The White House proposed around $1.67 billion for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), according to its budget request published Monday. That […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus was to bring HALEU cascade to brink of operations this week
Centrus Energy was to have its new enrichment cascade for high assay low-enriched uranium ready to start up by Thursday, according to recent regulatory filings by the Bethesda, Md., company. The uranium fuel broker and enrichment technology developer appended a letter contract with the Department of Energy to its latest 10-K filing with the Securities […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
NE fuel cycle budget gets boost for ‘23, now includes interim storage funds
If it became law, the White House’s 2023 budget proposal for the Department of Energy’s nuclear power portfolio would include an increase in nuclear fuel cycle research, according to a budget document published Tuesday. Of the roughly $422 million proposed for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) fuel cycle research and development program, around $20 […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus to bring HALEU cascade to brink of operations this week under modified DOE contract
Centrus Energy was to have its new enrichment cascade for high assay low-enriched uranium ready to start up by Thursday, according to recent regulatory filings by the Bethesda, Md., company. The uranium fuel broker and enrichment technology developer appended a letter contract with the Department of Energy to its latest 10-K filing with the Securities […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus has another profitable year; downplays worries over Russian uranium
Uranium broker and enrichment technology developer Centrus, Bethesda, Md., posted a profitable 2021, easily besting year-ago figures with a net income of $175 million, or $9.75 a share, on revenue of about $300 million, the company reported Thursday. That compared with a net income of almost $54.5 million, or 57 cents a share, in 2020. […]
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Decommissioning
Portsmouth X-326 coming down as DUF6 cranks up
PHOENIX — Demolition of the X-326 Process Building could be completed this July at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio and around the time, depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion operations might resume at the former gaseous diffusion plant, speakers told the attendees of Waste Management Symposia here Wednesday. Remediation contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth aims to […]
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Decommissioning
Portsmouth X-326 coming down as DUF6 cranks up
PHOENIX — Demolition of the X-326 Process Building could be completed this July at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio and around the time, depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion operations might resume at the former gaseous diffusion plant, speakers told the attendees of Waste Management Symposia here Wednesday. Remediation contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth aims to […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DUF6 work resuming at Paducah Site, Portsmouth to follow
After being offline for nearly two years due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and plant upgrades, the Department of Energy says conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride to a more stable form is resuming at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. Likewise, depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion into uranium oxide at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio should […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Four Rivers labeled ‘satisfactory’ overall in fee scorecard
Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the Department of Energy contractor in charge of remediation at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, was deemed mostly “satisfactory” during fiscal 2021 and earned roughly half of its potential “adjective” fee, according to a recently-released scorecard from the agency. The joint venture made up of Jacobs, Fluor and BWX Technologies, earned […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DUF6 work resuming at Paducah Site, Portsmouth to follow
After being offline for nearly two years due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and plant upgrades, the Department of Energy says conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride to a more stable form is resuming at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. Likewise, depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion into uranium oxide at the Portsmouth Site in […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Four Rivers labeled ‘satisfactory’ overall in fee scorecard
Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the Department of Energy contractor in charge of remediation at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, was deemed mostly “satisfactory” during fiscal 2021 and earned roughly half of its potential “adjective” fee, according to a recently-released scorecard from the agency. The joint venture made up of Jacobs, Fluor and BWX Technologies, earned […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Four Rivers Labeled ‘Satisfactory’ Overall in Fee Scorecard
Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the Department of Energy contractor in charge of remediation at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, was deemed mostly “satisfactory” during fiscal 2021 and earned roughly half of its potential “adjective” fee, according to a recently-released scorecard from the agency. The joint venture made up of Jacobs, Fluor and BWX Technologies, earned […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Even With Sidelined DUF6 Plants, Mid-America Conversion Claims Most of Fee
With the Department of Energy’s depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion plants offline during fiscal 2021, Atkins-led Mid-America Conversion Services won 70% of its subjective fee and 95% of its performance-based incentive fee, according to a scorecard published last week. The contractor earned more than $1.3 million out of a potential $1.9 million in subjectively reviewed fees […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DUF6 Work Resuming at Paducah Site, Portsmouth to Follow
After being offline for nearly two years due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and plant upgrades, the Department of Energy says conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride to a more stable form is resuming at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. Likewise, depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion into uranium oxide at the Portsmouth Site in […]
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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA Considering Small Biz for Oversight of Planned DUF4 Line
The National Nuclear Security Administration, which requires a regular supply of depleted uranium tetrafluoride for future nuclear-weapon refurbishments, may let a small business coordinate production and delivery of that material to the agency, according to a request for information released last week. The nuclear-weapons agency plans to acquire the uranium tetrafluoride by converting stocks of […]








