Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

An article in the Feb. 26 edition of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing should have reported that a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) memo required modifications to reach 100 plutonium pit capacity by the end of 2028 and 60 pits per year afterward. Additionally, the NNSA responded to Exchange Monitor’s queries by the deadline the communications […]

Virginia-based BWX Technologies, (BWXT) said last week it has appointed longtime defense and aerospace executive Dan Jablonsky to its board of directors effective March 2. In a Friday, Feb. 20 press release, BWXT said Jablonsky will  also serve on the board’s audit and finance committee. Jablonsky was most recently the CEO and chair of Ursa […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site has asked the Washington state Department of Ecology for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) to process up to 20 percent more tank waste. The  feds said in a Wednesday press release they have asked to use grout to solidify some of the secondary […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly the Loan Programs Office, has awarded a $26.5 billion loan to Southern Company to invest in its energy infrastructure.  Southern Company said in its Wednesday press release that the term is nearly 30 years of loans and will be split among two utility subsidiaries, Georgia […]

Nano Nuclear signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EHC Investment Tuesday to explore a joint venture to deploy its KRONOS microreactor in the United Arab Emirates. EHC Investment is a UAE investment holding company based in Abu Dhabi that has been around for over 35 years and has 12 subsidiaries, including EHC Energy.  The […]

Rolls-Royce said Tuesday that it has completed altitude and operability testing for the company’s F130 engine as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) modernization for the B-52. The announcement comes as the Air & Space Forces Association holds its annual symposium in Aurora, Colo. Under CERP, the more powerful F130s […]

David Beck, deputy administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), sent a memo Feb. 11 outlining “transformation objectives” for nuclear weapons at the agency. The memo was sent to the DOE’s semi-autonomous agency’s laboratories, contractors and senior officials. It lists objectives considered “achievable” by the end of calendar year 2028, and […]

In the 2026 State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump mentioned 2025’s Operation Midnight Hammer attacks against Iran and vaguely alluded to negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” Trump said while addressing Congress. “But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s […]

Battelle Energy Alliance, the Department of Energy’s management contractor for Idaho National Laboratory is seeking expressions of interest from vendors capable of raising the fire alarm strobes in Building 1617. The work will help the prime contractor in meeting safety codes and updated height and visibility requirements, according to a Feb. 24 procurement notice online […]

Montreal, Canada-based nuclear engineering company AtkinsRéalis will conduct its fourth quarter earnings conference call on Friday at 8 a.m. Eastern Time. The company is coming off a strong third quarter in 2025, where it saw its net earnings ($146.7 million (US $104.6 million)) and quarterly revenue ($2.8 billion (US $1.99 billion)) rise year-over-year. Atkins dealt […]

President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address was scheduled to begin after the deadline for Morning Briefing, but coverage of the speech can be found now on the Exchange Monitor website. If you access it online, don’t worry. The coverage of presidential comments on nuclear energy, data centers and international security will also […]

The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Advisory Board is being discontinued after 30 years, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said Tuesday. Members of the Environmental Management Advisory Board (EMAB) were recently informed that DOE during the second Donald Trump administration has decided “to sunset the board,” ECA said in a member email Tuesday. The EMAB […]

Amentum will move its headquarters from Chantilly, Va. to Reston in early 2027, the company announced Feb. 19. The nuclear engineering and technology solutions said it has signed a lease for 45,000-square-feet of office space at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza, according to its press release. The sixteen-story building is certified to meet modern energy efficiency […]

The Pentagon’s $150.5 billion in fiscal 2026 reconciliation funding has $4.5 billion to accelerate production of the Air Force B-21 Raider stealth bomber, Northrop Grumman said Monday at the Air & Space Forces Association annual warfare symposium. The Air Force’s plans have called for 100 B-21s, yet that number might increase to 145 or more, […]

The Pentagon will now look to spend over $150 billion in reconciliation funds this fiscal year, submitting a plan to Congress outlining efforts to advance the Golden Dome missile defense project and other nuclear activities. The plan represents a large increase from the $113 billion in reconciliation funds the Donald Trump administration had originally projected […]

Earnings rose, though government operations fell, at BWX Technologies (BWXT), Lynchburg, Va., in the fourth quarter, which the company attributed to naval propulsion and commercial nuclear power awards. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $93 million, or $1.01 a share, up from $71 million, or $0.92 a share, in the year-ago […]

Kairos Power and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have entered into a $27 million partnership to focus on accelerating advanced nuclear technology. “DOE’s support has been instrumental in helping Kairos Power accelerate our path to technological maturity,” Ed Blandford, Kairos chief technology officer and co-founder, said in ONRL’s Feb. 19 press […]

A Department of Energy contractor has demolished a 175-foot-tall K West Reactor exhaust stack at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., DOE said Friday Feb. 20. Last week’s implosion of the exhaust stack marks another big step by Amentum-led contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company towards cocooning the last of nine Hanford reactors being placed into […]

After the State Department publicly revealed China secretly conducted an explosive nuclear test in 2020, despite a self-imposed ban from 1996, intelligence agencies are saying China’s purpose is to completely transform the country’s nuclear arsenal, according to CNN. The Feb. 21 article said sources familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments said the nuclear test could mean […]

Orano USA submitted its environmental report for  Project IKE, a planned uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Monday. “We are pleased to reach this early review stage with the NRC and to submit a detailed and comprehensive Environmental Report addressing the required analyses, including land use, air quality, […]

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) unveiled plans for a new nuclear power siting study during his Feb. 17 State of the State address. Evers announced the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin–Madison’s nuclear engineering department will lead the study. “We’re also continuing to explore new ways for Wisconsin to be a leader […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said Monday it is hiring an executive to help industrial redevelopment at DOE nuclear sites. In a post on LinkedIn, Environmental Management head Tim Walsh said the nuclear cleanup office had appointed Jim Kahler, who Walsh described as a “seasoned adviser and strategist.” Kahler will “drive reindustrialization […]

The Department of Energy is seeking responses to a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Legacy Cleanup Contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory by Thursday Feb. 26. The DOE Office of Environmental Management plans to eventually issue a final RFP to continue legacy remediation at Los Alamos. The business is now held by […]

A long-running lawsuit brought by an employee over implementation of a federal contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ended just months before a planned jury trial. A Jan. 30 filing with the federal district court in Knoxville, Tenn., indicate plaintiff Jeff Bilyeu and employer UT-Battelle, which runs Oak […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  February  23: Earnings call: BWXT will discuss quarterly financial results in an earnings call that starting at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.  26: Earnings call: NuScale Power will discuss quarterly financial results in a call that starts at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. March:  […]

The Natrium technology of Bellevue, Wash.-based TerraPower  has been accepted into the United Kingdom’s Generic Design Assessment process Feb. 19.  The Generic Design Assessment is the process used by U.K. nuclear and environmental regulators to evaluate new nuclear projects. TerraPower announced its intention to enter into the process in April 2025 and submitted the application in […]