Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Orano USA and Curio announced on April 9 to have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to partner up to create a new pathway in advanced nuclear fuel management. Orano USA, based in Maryland, and Curio, based in Washington D.C., both specialize in nuclear technology centered around nuclear waste management.  Through the MOU, Orano […]

A coalition of five states and three private nuclear companies filed a lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on April 7 in a federal district court in Texas.  Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Utah joined with advanced nuclear companies Deep Fission, Valar Atomics and Last Energy in arguing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has inhibited […]

Delaware lawmakers have proposed new legislation to establish a task force that will study nuclear energy and possible small modular reactor deployment in the state. In the bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 18, the task force will be tasked with multiple roles such as to assess the logistics of deploying SMRs in Delaware, to assess […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration will complete the First Production Unit of the B61-13 this fiscal year, according to Fox News April 9. With production complete in December for the B61-12 life extension program, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has now transitioned to producing the B61-13 gravity bomb, a new, higher-yield variant of the […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: 16: Meeting: The Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association kicks off a two-day meeting on New Mexico Federal Business Opportunities starting at 8 a.m. Mountain Time at the Hilton Buffalo Thunder Resort in Santa Fe.  22: Conference: Energy Communities Alliance holds new […]

Duke Energy has filed an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a second license renewal for its Robinson Nuclear Plant in Hartville, S.C., the company said this week.  Robinson Nuclear Plant began operating in 1971 and has one unit, a pressurized-water reactor, that generates 759 megawatts. It is also the first commercial nuclear plant […]

The Department of Energy has conditionally agreed to provide five companies with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced nuclear projects.  The five companies awarded are: Kairos Power based in California; Radiant Industries based in California;  TerraPower based in Washington; TRISO-X, a Tennessee-based nuclear fuel subsidiary of X-Energy; and, Westinghouse Electric based in Pennsylvania. HALEU is […]

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned five entities and one individual that it says support entities overseeing Iran’s nuclear program, the State Department said in a press release. The entities sanctioned include the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and its subordinate Iran Centrifuge Technology Company as part of President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on […]

Roger Jarrell, a senior adviser at the Department of Energy, was appointed Wednesday to serve as DOE’s principal deputy assistant secretary for Environmental Management. Jarrell’s appointment to the position, sometimes referred to as EM-2, means he will lead the DOE Office of Environmental Management until whatever point an assistant secretary for Environmental Management (EM-1) is […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13 to 7 Wednesday to advance the nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. The Danly nomination to be the No. 2 official in the Department of Energy can now go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. No date for such a […]

In opening remarks at a hearing Wednesday on military posture in the Indo-Pacific region, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said to “accelerate AUKUS” to strengthen deterrence against China and North Korea. “China now has the world’s largest Navy—and a shipbuilding capacity over 200 times greater than our own,” Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, […]

In a Tuesday emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Judge in California ordering federal agencies including the Department of Energy to rehire 16,000 probationary employees. The March 13, preliminary injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is stayed pending the […]

President Donald Trump said Monday his administration’s forthcoming defense budget proposal will have a topline of around $1 trillion, a record first for the Pentagon. “$1 trillion and nobody’s seen anything like it,” Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office. In an email to investors, a TD Cowen analyst noted that while the majority […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday morning on the nomination of James Danly to be deputy secretary of energy. Danly, nominated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 22 to be the second-ranking person at the Department of Energy, told the committee last week if confirmed he would try to […]

With Indiana looking to encourage nuclear power projects, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) announced Monday the state of Indiana will host an informational retreat on the issue. The retreat is sponsored by the Department of Energy and National Governors Association and will be held this summer. No specific date has been set.  The goals of […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., is winding down its maintenance outage to the point it has resumed disposal of defense-related transuranic waste. DOE and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) prime, Bechtel’s Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, began the outage for refurbishment in January. The weeks-long outage, conducted for repair and […]

WASHINGTON – Former Rep. Brandon Williams, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the National Nuclear Security Administration, told a Senate panel Tuesday he would “speak up” for the “men and women” that work for the agency. “If confirmed, I commit to you that I will stand up for the men and women of NNSA [National […]

The Department of Energy could issue draft solicitations for key contracts at the Paducah Site in Kentucky and the Portsmouth Site in Ohio as soon as July, according to a recent notice. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said last month draft requests for proposals (RFPs) could come as early as July for Paducah environmental […]

Several key publicly-traded companies serving the Department of Energy’s weapons complex have seen their share prices decline over the past week. The stock market has been in a nosedive over much of the past week after President Donald Trump announced aggressive tariffs on goods from other nations. Below is a brief look at where key […]

Texas lawmakers have proposed a bill that promotes advanced nuclear deployment across the state. House Bill 14, authored by Texas Rep. Cody Harris (R), would create the Texas Advanced Nuclear Deployment Office and Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Program. Harris proposed $2 billion to fund the deployment office. The state House’s State Affairs Committee passed the […]

The House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee will hear from Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, and others on the country’s strategic forces posture for fiscal 2026. Cotton, the military’s top uniformed nuclear official, is one of four witnesses to testify Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time in Rayburn House Office Building, […]

Russia will obtain licenses to operate, and potentially restart, all units of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine by 2027, plant director Yuri Chernichuk recently told Russian-owned news source Strana Rosatom. Chernichuk told Strana Rosatom, which is owned by Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom that has occupied Zaporizhzhia since 2022, Rosatom will need […]

A company promoting deep borehole technology for nuclear waste has announced plans to work with a company developing plans for underground nuclear reactors, according to a press release.  Deep Isolation has agreed in a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the management of  spent nuclear fuel from Deep Fission’s advanced underground reactors. Deep Fission, a […]

With key Democrats denouncing any possible mass firings at the Department of Energy, the deadline is before midnight Tuesday for DOE staff to opt into the latest round of voluntary buyouts. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said Friday they are troubled by reports by Associated Press and other media of possible […]

Two organizations serving the Department of Energy’s weapons complex, one a multibillion-dollar contractor and the other a non-profit research entity, will soon reduce staff levels at offices in Virginia. Reston, Va.-based Leidos, which has several DOE contracts and leads a partnership providing services at the Hanford Site in Washington state, will be cutting its northern […]