Vol. 30, No. 10 
Electric Boat president says multi-sub award still months away
-
International
Seizing Iranian nuclear material could require U.S. troops on ground
The Donald Trump administration is considering deploying troops on the ground in Iran to secure the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU), news reports say. “People are going to have to go and get it,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Congressional briefing Tuesday about securing Tehran’s stockpile of uranium. Other news […]
-
Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Courtney presses DoD on delayed multi-year sub contract
The ranking member of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projected Forces subcommittee in a Tuesday letter further pushed the Defense Department to award an overdue multi-year contract covering up to 11 Block VI Virginia-class attack submarines. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) has been pushing DoD to award the contract that was authorized in the fiscal […]
-
Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Sub forces commander pushes to maintain SSN(X) support, keep edge over China
The commander of Naval Submarine Forces last week argued it is “critically important” the government continues supporting the SSN(X) next generation nuclear-powered attack submarine program to maintain its advantage over China. “The Virginia-class submarine is highly capable, it is by far the most capable nuclear attack submarine that’s ever existed in the world,” Vice Admiral […]
-
Plutonium Pit Production
Full production approved for Savannah River pit production training center
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) greenlighted the start of full construction, or Critical Decision 2/3, for the High-Fidelity Training and Operations Center (HFTOC) at Savannah River Site. The HFTOC will function as a training facility, or a mock facility, for the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility’s Main Processing Building, according to a Monday press […]
-
Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus enters agreements with Palantir and Oklo
Centrus Energy has announced multiple partnerships this week aiming to increase its fuel capacities and activities at its uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio. Centrus and Oklo agreed on Monday to seek a joint venture focused on deconversion services for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and advancing fuel-cycle technologies in Ohio. The company then agreed to […]
-
National Laboratories
Landlocked Livermore must tear down the old before building the new, exec says
PHOENIX – The land-constrained Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco, Calif. must demolish decaying old buildings covering a third of its footprint over the next 16 years, Livermore manager Mark Costella said here Tuesday. Livermore’s main Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) campus takes up only one square mile, Costella said. As […]
-
Innovation & Infrastructure
Genesis Mission should produce advanced scientific platform, DOE exec says
PHOENIX— A Genesis consortium of public, private partnerships has already identified more than two dozen national science challenges, Kristen Ellis, a longtime DOE supervisor who is currently the associate principal deputy undersecretary for science, said here Tuesday. The Genesis Mission is designed to be a joint effort by industry and the Department of Energy’s national […]
-
Transuranic Waste
WIPP outage addressing ‘substandard’ assets
The annual outage at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico should end in the coming week, following significant replacement work and upgrades to infrastructure that a watchdog deemed “substandard or inadequate.” “The annual winter maintenance outage began on Jan. 5 this year and is scheduled to end in mid-March, […]
-
Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
SRS to restart HB-Line, recycle fuel for advanced reactors
The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is restarting HB-Line operations in order to recycle surplus plutonium and produce uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for advanced reactors. DOE announced the restart in a Friday March 6 press release. It did not reveal a specific date for the restart driven by President Donald […]
-
Transuranic Waste
New WIPP ventilation system, utility shaft ended up costing about $770M
PHOENIX — Installation of two major infrastructure projects at Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plan in New Mexico ended up costing about $770 million due to the pandemic, replacement of a major subcontractor and other factors, officials said here Wednesday. The cost of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS), renamed the Underground Ventilation […]
-
International
Wrap up: Senator Murphy says Iran war plans “incoherent and incomplete”; Finland plans to left ban on nuclear arms; U.S. opposes IAEA resolution condemning attacks on Ukrainian energy; more
Fresh out of a classified briefing Tuesday on Operation Epic Fury, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, posted on X saying the war goals “DO NOT” involve destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons program. “This is, uh…surprising…since Trump says over and over this is a key goal,” Murphy continued in his […]