Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) is seeking expressions of interest from entities that can convert enriched lithium chloride and enriched lithium hydride to lithium metal for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, according to a notice posted last week.
Lithium is used for the manufacture of nuclear weapons components; the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) lithium operations are carried out at Y-12.
A Government Accountability Office report last summer found that an increasing demand for lithium has outpaced existing capabilities; it said the demand for purified lithium had tripled and that Y-12 could run out of the material by 2018.
The NNSA then said earlier this year that it had found other sources of purified lithium for nuclear weapons work and that Y-12 now has enough enriched lithium to meet its needs through 2028.
The agency said in its newest Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan released in March that it would name a lithium strategic material manager in 2016. The report also said the agency will continue using Y-12’s Beta-2 facility to meet near-term needs “while developing a plan for the lithium production capability to address long-term capability requirements.”
An NNSA spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that this is the most recent update to the lithium plan.
The latest sources sought notice outlined several requirements, including that lithium processing must be carried out in the United States; that the material be processed and transported to and from the processing site by CNS; and that all lithium be returned to CNS at the end of the performance period.
Interested parties must submit a response by July 30 through Y-12’s procurement website at y12.doe.gov/suppliers/procurement.
