Meanwhile, during his appearance in Tennessee Friday, Moniz was asked about the administration’s plans for preserving the centrifuge technology for national security in taking over the American Centrifuge Project. There have been concerns, based on the proposal submitted in USEC’s bankruptcy proceedings, that the centrifuge manufacturing program based in Oak Ridge would come to a halt. Moniz indicated that’s not necessarily the case. “The technology is unique for us right now in being an American-origin technology and therefore one that we can use for national security applications. And the national-security application that is most nearly at hand is the continued and expanded tritium production for our weapons. So, basically, we are working through a process to make sure we protect the IP [intellectual property], protect the technology, transition it ultimately to a facility that will provide the tritium capability that we need—which I would just say is a much smaller facility than would be required for an economically competitive commercial activity.”
Asked about the proposed agreement in bankruptcy court, which would seem to basically eliminate the manufacturing program, Moniz said: “We still have to work this out. Now clearly, just as a statement of fact, the facility that’s in place right now was certainly sufficient to demonstrate the technology. It is not of the scale that one would ultimately need for national security. So we also have to worry about protecting what we have but also the supply chain. And that’s what we have to work out, and it’s a budgetary discussion.” When pressed about the money being proposed and what appears to be a reduced scope that doesn’t include money for manufacturing, Moniz replied, “Be patient.”