Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

President Donald Trump has nominated several officials to lead key Department of Energy branches serving nuclear energy and the weapons complex, and some are making progress through the confirmation process.  The nominees would report to the already confirmed Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Exchange Monitor will update the nominees’ progress from time to time. James […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission regional administrator Laura Dudes has stepped away from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after 30 years of service. Dudes began in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1994 as a reactor engineer intern and soon worked up to other positions such as Region I, Division of Reactor Safety inspector. In 2006, she was […]

Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive officer of OpenAI, is stepping down as chairman of the board of nuclear power company Oklo, according to a company statement Wednesday. Jacob DeWitte, Oklo CEO and co-founder, will serve as chairman and board member in Altman’s place. “As Oklo explores strategic partnerships to deploy clean energy at scale, […]

A manufacturing process change that will allow Northrop Grumman to reduce risk, increase production rates, and set the foundation for expanded production numbers of the B-21 stealth bomber beyond current plans helped lead to a $397 million after-tax loss on the Air Force program in the first quarter, the company said on Tuesday. The manufacturing […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to submit a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a small modular reactor at the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn. by June 2025. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in an April 17 letter of notification of intent. TVA […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said “we should all welcome” the nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran in a panel at a conference in Washington Tuesday. “I would say this is a moment, if I have to characterize it, this is a moment which is fraught with opportunity,” […]

TerraPower has taken its first steps in the regulatory process for its advanced nuclear reactor in the United Kingdom. TerraPower, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, announced in an April 16 press release that it has submitted a letter to the U.K. Department of Energy Security and Net Zero establishing its intention to enter the […]

A senior member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees has raised concerns that the Trump administration’s widespread tariffs policy will lead to a spike in defense acquisition costs and negatively impact the industrial base. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is also the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Christopher Hanson, commissioner for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Monday he does not know where the future of the agency stands under the current Donald Trump administration, the executive order threatening diluting power, and the current lawsuit against the agency. “I don’t know,” Hanson said with a laugh in answer to a […]

Uranium Energy Corp. CEO, founder and president Amir Adnani has been appointed to the World Nuclear Association’s Board of Management. “It’s an honor to join the WNA [World Nuclear Association] Board of Management at such a pivotal time for our industry,” Adnani stated in a Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC) press release from April 17. “I […]

A collective of Oak Ridge groups recently disposed of highly radioactive waste that had been kept at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for more than 50 years, as announced in an April 15 press release. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge processed and shipped highly radioactive source, […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: 21-23: Conference: 2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy conference at the Westin Downtown D.C. kicks off at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time with a virtual keynote by Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. 22: Conference: Energy Communities Alliance holds new nuclear projects conference starting at […]

Almost three months into the second Donald Trump administration a safety watchdog panel for Department of Energy nuclear installation still lacks a quorum. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), which is set up as a five-member panel, is down to two people and its lone Republican’s current term expires in October.  The Trump administration has […]

Amentum was selected by ČEZ, an energy utility based in the Czech Republic, to support its new nuclear program by advancing plans for two small modular reactors (SMR), as stated in an April 8 press release. Amentum, based in Chantilly, VA, will be tasked to deliver two environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports regarding the proposals […]

The DOE Hanford Site did not meet a technical safety requirement regarding the fissile mass of a waste box, according to a Feb. 28 report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Personnel at the site discovered the waste box with a fissile mass value exceeding the container limit in an outside storage area, according […]

The Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile is to have new silos, U.S. Air Force leaders told community leaders during town halls in Kimball, Neb. and Pine Bluffs, Wyo. early April. The Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has a significantly larger design than its predecessor 1960s-era Minuteman missile series, including the Boeing-made Minuteman III. […]

A GE Hitachi Nuclear-led research team successfully tested new building blocks that could potentially reduce the cost of nuclear construction. In 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) partnered up with GE Hitachi to develop three construction technologies that can collectively reduce the cost of new nuclear builds by around 10%. Through the initiative, GE Hitachi […]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s office of Environmental Management announced Tuesday it has completed construction of the fourth On-Site Waste Disposal Facility cell at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The fourth cell will be used to dispose of debris of uranium enrichment process buildings, Federal Project Director Jud Lilly said in the DOE press release. […]

EnergySolutions announced in a Tuesday press release it was awarded two government contracts that assist in nuclear waste management across prominent Naval sites in the United States. The Utah-based nuclear company was awarded new U.S. Navy Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts that support waste management operations across numerous Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program sites. IDIQ […]

BWX Technologies announced Tuesday it acquired 97 acres of land in Oak Ridge, Tenn. with the goal of rebuilding domestic uranium enrichment capabilities by manufacturing centrifuges. According to the emailed press release, the land acquisition would support DOE and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) deployment of Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) technology. […]

The Defense Innovation Unit announced April 10 next steps in its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program to deploy microreactor nuclear systems for power reliability at select military locations. The companies selected are: Antares Nuclear BWXT Advanced Technologies General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Kairos Power Oklo Radiant Industries Incorporated Westinghouse Government Services X-energy These companies are […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) recorded 13 shipments in March, following an annual maintenance outage that kept it offline since January. The 13 shipments are the first since the facility accepted 29 shipments in December, and a scaledown from March 2024 when WIPP received 23 shipments, according to the site’s receipt […]

A Navy official told a panel of senators last week that the lead Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine is currently running 12 to 18 months late, but they are trying to recover some of that delay time. In a written statement for the Senate Armed Services Seapower subcommittee hearing April 8, program executive officers for the […]

The Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future intercontinental ballistic missile may get a reprieve from President Donald Trump’s executive order as DoD re-baselined the program last year after a six-month Nunn-McCurdy review. President Donald Trump’s April 9 executive order, Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base, speaks of cancellations of Major Defense […]