Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

President Donald Trump clearly approved of the trilateral AUKUS agreement Monday and even indicated the U.S. would expedite the sale and delivery of three to five nuclear-powered attack submarines. Trump’s remarks came as he appeared next to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to sign a bilateral agreement on critical mineral mining.  When Trump was asked […]

Last Energy, in conjunction with Texas A&M University System, announced plans to construct a pilot microreactor at the Texas A&M RELLIS campus in Bryan, Texas. The pilot will feature Last Energy’s PWR-5 reactor, which is a scaled-down version of the company’s commercial pressurized water reactor PWR-20 design that produces 20 megawatts of electricity, according to […]

Holtec International said Monday that restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Covert, Mich., is “imminent” following delivery of 68 nuclear fuel assemblies. “The fuel was fabricated domestically by a highly respected nuclear fuel manufacturer that has supplied Palisades and others in the nuclear industry for decades,” Holtec said in a Monday news release. Holtec […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should stay open to shippers of defense-related transuranic waste from across-the-country, the Energy Communities Alliance told New Mexico’s Environment Secretary James Kenney in a letter Friday. The Washington, D.C.-based Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) wrote to Kenney in reaction to statements that the head of the New […]

The Department of Energy Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Washington state has filled seven canisters with vitrified tank waste as of Friday, according to DOE. As of Friday morning, Oct. 17 at Hanford “7 containers were full, an 8th was almost complete, and the 9th was in the process of being […]

Northrop Grumman and the Air Force have completed a critical design review for the launch support system of the LGM-35A Sentinel future intercontinental ballistic missile, the defense contractor said Monday. The launch support system is a digital command and control infrastructure for Sentinel operations and launches. According to the press release, the review was executed […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) furloughed around 1,400 employees, 80% of its workforce, with only 375 exempted as critical personnel that will still come into work Monday. A source told the Exchange Monitor Monday the current focus is keeping the Y-12 National Security Complex and Pantex Plant running since both sites run out of […]

NuScale Power, the Oregon-based developer of small modular reactor technology, has selected James Canafax as its chief legal officer and corporate secretary, the company said Monday. Canafax was most recently general counsel and chief compliance officer at Maritime Partners, NuScale said in a press release. Canafax is also a former senior vice president and general […]

The Australian government announced it was doubling its investment in a submarine supplier qualification pilot program that is helping companies qualify to enter the supply chain of the U.S. submarine industrial base. The Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification Pilot is specifically meant to provide more ways for Australian small and medium enterprises to access the American […]

Spent Fuel Solutions will hold a webinar Oct. 22 with the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council (USNIC) Back-End Working Group Chair Rod Baltzer to discuss the organization’s national waste management policy paper. The Wednesday webinar will be from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific Time and can be viewed via Zoom. USNIC’s action plan “Action Plan […]

Following published reports that Preston Wells Griffith was being forced out as undersecretary of energy, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced Friday the appointment of Alex Fitzsimmons as acting undersecretary. Fitzsimmons, like Griffith, served in the first Donald Trump administration. Fitzsimmons has gained considerable clout so far at DOE under Wright. Already this year, Fitzsimmons […]

The federal shutdown enters its 20th day on Monday Oct. 20 and with no breakthrough expected soon, the Department of Energy has called off next week’s meeting of advisory board leaders for the Office of Environmental Management (EM). In an announcement emailed to Exchange Monitor late Friday, DOE said the EM Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  (With the federal shutdown still in effect at press time it is advisable to double-check with sponsors to see if government-related speakers/events are still scheduled. ) October 22: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a business meeting where they’ll consider S.2130, […]

A Senate vote to move forward on fiscal year 2026 defense appropriations legislation failed last Thursday, as most Democrats opposed supporting the measure amid the ongoing government shutdown. “We want to appropriate beyond just defense. We want a broader package [of spending bills] and to have clarity from our president, the House and the Senate […]

The American Nuclear Society (ANS) has written Energy Secretary Chris Wright with recommendations for the Department of Energy to implement in creating a national policy for nuclear waste management. Hash Hashemian, ANS president, and Craig Piercy, ANS executive director and CEO, outlined the spent fuel recommendations in an Oct. 9 letter. “ANS appreciates that your […]

A federal district judge in California has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from laying off thousands of additional federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown, various news organizations reported Wednesday. Following a hearing, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco agreed to a request from unions, such as the American Federation of Government […]

Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill at the end of September with the goal to reduce spending on nuclear weapons, a release on Markey’s website said. According to Markey’s website, the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act (SANE) would reduce the number of Columbia-class submarines purchased from 12 to eight, […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 61 shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste during September, marking its highest monthly total for the 2025 fiscal year and the calendar year thus far. Last month’s total is six more than the 55 shipments of TRU waste sent in August, and the […]

Radiant Nuclear plans to build its first portable nuclear generator factory on land near the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the company announced this week.  The El Segundo, Calif. based microreactor developer company will invest $280 million in its new factory and create 175 new jobs in Roane County, according to Tennessee […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Oct. 7 that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division completed initial sea trials for the Virginia-class attack submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798). The tests, done by the Navy and NNS, included submerging the submarine for its first time and conducting high-speed maneuvers, both submerged underwater and on the surface. The tests […]

The San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS) Community Engagement Panel will be briefed on canister inspection results Thursday during a hybrid session to discuss on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel at the plant. The seminar  is scheduled for Thursday Oct.16 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time at the Casino San Clemente 140 Avenida Pico, San Clemente, […]

Twenty-five years after the Department of Energy contracted Bechtel National to build a plant to vitrify radioactive sludge into a glass form, the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) began operation this week at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Wednesday Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Facility (DFLAW) at WTP […]

The Department of Energy is holding a virtual industry day Wednesday on the potential for data center development at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The session, scheduled between 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time, will include details about a request for proposal (RFP) process for artificial intelligence-related data centers at the federal complex. […]

The United States nuclear sector’s domestic uranium purchasing was up sharply in 2024, according to a recent annual report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In EIA’s Uranium Marketing Annual Report, released Sept. 30, U.S. owners and operators of commercial nuclear power reactors purchased a total of 55.9 million pounds of U3O8e deliveries from U.S. […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced a new nuclear reactor program Tuesday to deploy microreactors in the military. Called the Janus program, Wright and Driscoll announced the effort at the 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference in Washington.  The announcement heavily referred […]

Several state governors have teamed up on a coordinated approach to speeding development of advanced nuclear  projects. Working through the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), 11 states have issued a request for information (RFI) to create a scalable and rapid approach to deploying new nuclear reactors. The deadline for responding to the Advanced […]