The National Nuclear Security Administration said it has identified some “other sources” of purified lithium-6 needed for nuclear warhead refurbishment, perhaps easing concerns raised in recent months by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General.
In a budget briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Brig. Gen. Stephen Davis, the NNSA’s acting deputy administrator for defense programs, fielded questions about the lithium concerns and plans for a new production capability at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee.
“We are now projecting we have enough lithium to get through 2028 without any concern,” Davis said.
According to the GAO report last summer, there is a large supply of lithium in storage at Y-12, including what is contained in components taken from retired nuclear weapons. However, those lithium stocks must be cleaned and additionally prepared before being put to use in refurbished bombs and warheads. The purified lithium has to be qualified by one of the NNSA weapons labs, either Los Alamos or Lawrence Livermore.
The GAO report said that until 2013, Y-12 relied on the wet chemistry equipment in the plant’s Beta-2 facility to convert the existing inventory of lithium chloride to a form usable in weapons. However, that became no longer viable because of the age of the facility and its equipment.
In most recent times, Y-12 shifted some of the lithium cleaning work to a process known as direct materials manufacturing. But the GAO report indicated that the increased demand for lithium was outpacing the capabilities. The GAO criticized the NNSA for putting too much attention on getting a new production facility and not enough on evaluating other alternatives for acquiring the weapon-grade lithium.
Davis said other sources of lithium had been identified as part of a “bridging strategy” to meet supply needs until additional capabilities are established. He was not specific about the other sources.
In its report last summer, the GAO said demand for purified lithium had tripled and indicated that Y-12 could run out of the weapon-grade material by 2018 if something wasn’t done. The GAO report noted that some of the equipment once used to convert lithium materials to the proper form was no longer viable and underscored the concerns about other work in the aged facilities at Y-12. The GAO said a new technique (direct materials manufacturing) for cleaning up lithium was taxing Y-12’s capabilities and couldn’t meet the projected demands because of the extended certification process.
A new lithium production facility at Y-12 has been proposed, but it is not expected to become a reality until 2025 or thereabouts, based on earlier reports. The new facility has a projected cost range of $301 million to $648 million.
NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz said the agency is preparing an analysis of alternatives for lithium production as part of a “structured discipline process,” which will look at how to get the needed materials. He said the NNSA anticipates the analysis will be completed by year’s end.
Officials also said there is some funding for initial design work on a new lithium production facility in the proposed fiscal 2017 budget.
