Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the tech powerhouse Nvidia have partnered to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate nuclear reactor development. The partnership stems from President Donald Trump administration’s Genesis Mission, according to INL’s Tuesday press release. The Genesis Mission comes from a Trump executive order in November that calls for […]

A nuclear reactor was airlifted from March Air Force Base (AFB), Calif. to Hill AFB, Utah, on Sunday, according to a release on the Pentagon’s website. This is the first time a nuclear reactor has been airlifted as a form of transport. Three C-17 transport planes flew individual components of a Valar Atomics 250 nuclear […]

The Department of Energy has approved the safety analysis for its Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) project at Idaho National Laboratory Wednesday. “The MARVEL project, under the DOE Microreactor Program, aims to advance the integration and application of microreactors in various industries, providing a unique opportunity for companies to learn from, collaborate, test […]

Earnings rose at Amentum, Chantilly, Va., in its first quarter, which the international engineering and technology company attributed to surging interest in nuclear both to power the grid and to support space exploration. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 ended Jan. 2 were $44 million, or $0.18 a share, up from $12 […]

Centrus Energy has agreed to a strategic partnership with Fluor, which will serve as  engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the planned expansion of an Ohio uranium enrichment plant. The Bethesda, Md.-based Centrus will collaborate with Fluor through subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating, according to its Wednesday press release. The subsidiary operates the American Centrifuge Plant […]

Sens. James Risch (R-Idaho) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) reintroduced a bill this week to reduce financial risk for new nuclear projects.  The 18-page Accelerating Reliable Capacity (ARC) Act establishes a risk reduction program for new reactors by placing safeguards against potential costs through financing terms and a limited federal cost share, according to the senators’ […]

Électricité de France (EDF) recently awarded Virginia-based Amentum a handful of new nuclear services contracts valued at roughly $730 million (£540 million). Under these contracts, Amentum will be expanding the critical solutions for the United Kingdom’s current nuclear reactor fleet, in addition to the construction of a new gigawatt power station at Hinkley Point, according […]

BWX Technologies said it has made “significant progress” in the production of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) for Antares Nuclear and is on track to have it completed by the July 4 deadline. Antares is one of 10 companies that were selected for DOE’s advanced reactor pilot program. The program seeks to have at least three reactors […]

The Department of Energy approved the preliminary documented safety analysis for Radiant Nuclear’s Kaleidos demonstration reactor Monday. El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant becomes the second company to have its safety analysis approved by DOE under its advanced reactor pilot program, with the first being Antares Nuclear. Through the program, DOE has set a goal of at […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted Duke Energy’s early site permit application for the Belews Creek Station near Stokes County, N.C. NRC staff found that the application contains enough information for the agency to formally docket the case and begin its detailed technical reviews, according to its press release. Docketing the application does not mean […]

A new nuclear technology company, Project Omega, said this week it will focus on developing nuclear fuel recycling technology. The Rhode Island-based private company said it will develop and deploy “cutting edge technologies and processes to recycle spent nuclear fuel into long-duration, high-density power sources, and critical materials for the nuclear industry,” according to the […]

The United States and Armenia signed an agreement to collaborate in civil nuclear power Monday. Within the deal, it will allow up to $5 billion in U.S. exports to Armenia and an additional $4 billion in longer-term fuel and maintenance contracts, Vice President J.D. Vance said during the Monday press conference. The agreement is also […]

The Department of Energy has approved the preliminary documented safety analysis for Hawthorne, Calif.-based nuclear company Valar Atomics’s demonstration reactor Thursday. The announcement of the completed safety analysis was made by DOE Idaho Operations Manager Robert Boston in a Friday LinkedIn post. Valar becomes the third demonstration reactor under DOE’s pilot reactor program to get […]

Nuclear energy hit a record high in power generation in 2025 and could play a larger role in the world’s power mix going forward, according to a February International Energy Agency report. In the report “Electricity 2026”, published Feb. 6, nuclear power produced 2,850 terawatt-hours (TWh) globally in 2025, indicating a 1.2% increase from 2024 […]

The Department of Energy has awarded over $19 million to five nuclear companies to research and develop fuel recycling technology for spent nuclear fuel. According to DOE’s Feb. 5 press release, the five selected companies were: Chicago-based Alpha Nur will research and validate a process that recovers highly enriched uranium from used fuel by domestic […]

Earnings fell at Centrus Energy, Bethesda, Md., in the fourth quarter, which the uranium broker attributed to the decreased revenue from its uranium sector. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $17.8 million, or $0.79 a share, down from $53.7 million, or $3.20 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was […]

The United States should prioritize the permanent disposal of defense high-level radioactive waste over commercial spent nuclear fuel, a group of panelists said during a Thursday webinar. In the Energy Communities Alliance’s (ECA) webinar “Options for High Level Waste and Used Nuclear Fuel”, Matt Bowen, a former Department of Energy official, said that defense high-level […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has established a categorical exclusion from certain National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures for approving and constructing advanced reactors. The exclusion is a “category of actions that the agency has determined, as established in its agency NEPA procedures, normally does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has launched an agency-wide reorganization to streamline decision-making in an effort to create more efficient licensing procedures. NRC said it will reorganize around core business lines of new reactors, operating reactors and nuclear materials and waste, according to the agency’s Wednesday press release.  Within the overhaul, “licensing and inspection functions […]

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) earnings increased in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 which the Knoxville-based federal utility attributed to higher sales thanks largely to weather impacts and growing demand from data processing and related sectors.. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 ended Dec. 31 were $266 million, up from $125 million, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Monday an opportunity for the public to request a hearing on a request from an Entergy subsidiary company to renew its early site permit for the Grand Gulf site in Mississippi. System Energy Resources was issued the early site permit in 2007 and it is set to expire on April […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has overhauled and hollowed out much of its nuclear safety regulations, according to a recent National Public Radio report.  According to the Jan. 28 NPR article, over the course of fall and winter, DOE has slashed hundreds of pages of requirements for security at the reactors, loosened protections for groundwater […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said this week it has recompleted refurbishment of Unit 4 at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada.  Darlington staff are currently doing final testing in preparation of returning Unit 4 to operation, OPG said Monday. The major refurbishment project that cost $12.8 billion (US$ 9.3 billion) is on track to […]

Deep Isolation launched a multi-year full-scale demonstration program this week for its nuclear waste disposal technology. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 28 at the Deep Borehole Demonstration, located at the Haliburton Drilling Technology Facility near Cameron, Texas. Deep Isolation said stakeholders across the nuclear industry, Texas state officials and Department of Energy (DOE) representatives […]

NextEra Energy is considering adding up to 6 gigawatts or 6,000 megawatts of new nuclear generation in part to help meet artificial intelligence (AI) data center demands. In a Jan. 27 earnings call, the Juno Beach, Fla.-based energy utility said small modular reactors (SMRs) could be built at its existing nuclear power plants or at […]

The Government of Saskatchewan and Regina, Canada-based utility SaskPower are planning to evaluate large nuclear reactors for potential deployment in the Saskatchewan province. The technology selection process for large nuclear reactors will be in conjunction with SaskPower’s plans to select small modular reactors (SMR) projects, according to its Jan. 28 press release. In October 2025, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) has granted a Texas environmental group’s petition to intervene in the case surrounding Dow and X-Energy’s construction permit application for Seadrift, Texas. The ASLB ruling on the intervention petition, which was issued Jan. 22, found that San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper) established grounds to […]