Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing
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Cleanup & Remediation
Coming up:
Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: March: 04: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from secretaries from different arms of the military on energy, environment and installations at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on Capitol Hill. 05: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear from Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary […]
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National Laboratories
Florida International lands $20M in DOE nuclear research funding
Florida International University (FIU) will receive $20 million in financial assistance from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management to support advanced nuclear cleanup technology, DOE said Friday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced the five-year grant benefitting FIU’s Applied Research Center in a Feb. 27 press release. The five-year deal that starts Sunday […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC considers approach to regulatory overhaul
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a hybrid informational meeting March 12 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the agency’s approach to revising its regulations and oversight processes. The March 12 meeting will be held at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md. and can be viewed via Microsoft Teams. It will also have a question […]
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Contracts & Procurement
AtkinsRéalis finishes out 2025 on a strong note
Earnings rose at AtkinsRéalis Group Montreal, Canada in the fourth quarter, which the company attributed to the sustained demand for its engineering services and nuclear capabilities, according to its Feb. 27 press release. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were (CAN) $95 million (US$69.5 million) or (CAN) $0.57 a share, up from […]
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International
US strikes Iran over nuclear program
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning the U.S. military and Israel began joint “major combat operations” in Iran with the objective of “eliminating imminent threats” from the regime. The following day the Pentagon reported Iran’s supreme leader had been killed. “They [Iran] rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take […]
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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA issues request for proposals for Savannah River Site M&O
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday released the highly anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for management and operations (M&O) of the Savannah River Site. The RFP is for a standalone performance-based contract, according to NNSA’s press release on the RFP. The base contract period would be five years, not including […]
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Budget & Policy
Correction
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 […]
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- DOE seeks Hanford permit mod to grout some secondary waste
- NNSA memo requires mods to reach 100 pit capacity by end of 2028, 60 pits per year afterward
- State of the Union: Trump waiting for “secret words” from Iran in talks
- Southern Company lands $26.5 billion DOE loan
- Rolls-Royce F130 engine for B-52 passes key testing
- Nano Nuclear, EHC to explore KRONOS deployment in UAE
- Aerospace exec Jablonsky joins BWXT board
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Contracts & Procurement
Aerospace exec Jablonsky joins BWXT board
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 […]
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Vitrification & Grout
DOE seeks Hanford permit mod to grout some secondary waste
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 […]
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Budget & Policy
Southern Company lands $26.5 billion DOE loan
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 […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Nano Nuclear, EHC to explore KRONOS deployment in UAE
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 […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Rolls-Royce F130 engine for B-52 passes key testing
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 […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
NNSA memo requires mods to reach 100 pit capacity by end of 2028, 60 pits per year afterward
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 […]
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- Pentagon reconciliation funding has $4.5 billion to speed B-21 production
- Pentagon details plan to raise ‘26 reconciliation spending to over $150B
- Administration not renewing nuclear cleanup advisory board
- Trump SOTU coverage available online
- INL prime looking for vendors to handle emergency alarm work
- Amentum to relocate to new office HQ in 2027
- AtkinsRéalis to hold fourth quarter earnings call
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International
State of the Union: Trump waiting for “secret words” from Iran in talks
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 […]
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National Laboratories
INL prime looking for vendors to handle emergency alarm work
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 […]
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Contracts & Procurement
AtkinsRéalis to hold fourth quarter earnings call
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 […]
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Budget & Policy
Trump SOTU coverage available online
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 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Administration not renewing nuclear cleanup advisory board
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 […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Amentum to relocate to new office HQ in 2027
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 […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Pentagon reconciliation funding has $4.5 billion to speed B-21 production
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, […]
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Budget & Policy
Pentagon details plan to raise ‘26 reconciliation spending to over $150B
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 […]
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- Strong fourth quarter despite gov ops decrease for BWXT
- Draft RFP responses on Los Alamos legacy cleanup biz due this week
- Orano files environmental report for uranium enrichment plant
- US intelligence: China conducted 2020 explosive nuclear test, revamping arsenal
- Wisconsin launches nuclear siting study
- K West exhaust stack comes down at Hanford
- Kairos works with ORNL on new nuclear technology
- Environmental Management hiring reindustrialization specialist
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Contracts & Procurement
Strong fourth quarter despite gov ops decrease for BWXT
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 […]
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National Laboratories
Kairos works with ORNL on new nuclear technology
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 […]
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Decommissioning
K West exhaust stack comes down at Hanford
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 […]
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International
US intelligence: China conducted 2020 explosive nuclear test, revamping arsenal
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 […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Orano files environmental report for uranium enrichment plant
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, […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Wisconsin launches nuclear siting study
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 […]











