Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

TerraPower recently raised $650 million for new nuclear projects, the company said in a press release.  The Bellevue, Wash. advanced nuclear technology company raised the money from both new and current investors. The venture capital arm of multinational technology company NVIDIA and NVentures contributed as the new investors. Current investors Microsoft co-founder and TerraPower founder […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said June 18 it has decided three policy matters designed to hasten microreactor licensing. . Microreactors are small nuclear reactors capable of producing electricity from a range of 1 to 20 megawatts. These reactors also can be fabricated in a factory and then shipped to the final location. First, NRC decided […]

Nearly 30 former Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members and one ex-chair criticized President Donald Trump’s firing of Commissioner Christopher Hanson in a Tuesday letter. On June 13 Trump fired Hanson from his position on the Commission in a move that shook up the nuclear industry. The Tuesday letter was written to the agency’s four remaining […]

Holtec International, known for decommissioning reactors and developing nuclear power projects, could become a publicly-traded company within the next year. In a Monday interview with Barrons, Holtec CEO Kris Singh said the company was looking at an initial public offering sometime in the January through April 2026 time period, a Holtec spokesperson confirmed Wednesday via […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently amended its regulations for the licensing, special projects and annual fees it will charge applicants and licensees for fiscal 2025.  According to the NRC Tuesday press release, the agency will reduce the hourly rate for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants for specific activities required by the Advance Act. […]

The Idaho National Laboratory has concluded a first-of-a-kind safety experiment with high burnup fuel the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced this week. Test results should provide data that could help boost performance and lower the amount of waste generated at nuclear plants, the Office of Nuclear Energy said in its Tuesday press […]

Centrus Energy, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., has been awarded an extended contract with the Department of Energy, worth about $110 million, to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium through June 30, 2026. In 2022, Centrus was awarded a three-phase follow-on contract to bring the cascade into production and produce HALEU for DOE’s use. DOE has exercised its […]

SAVANNAH, GA. — Triso-X is targeting Dec. 6, 2027, for production of its first “pebble” of fabricated nuclear fuel at its facility located on land formerly owned by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, a company executive told a conference here Thursday. The 215,000-square-foot fuel fabrication facility, called TX-1, will employ about […]

Interest groups and nuclear policy insiders have started to weigh in on a Wednesday decision by the U.S. Supreme Court effectively upholding a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license for a private interim waste storage facility in Texas. When asked for a comment the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) simply said via email: “The Supreme Court decision upholds […]

On the heels of a controversial firing of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission member, President Donald Trump has renominated NRC Chairman David Wright to serve another term. The Wright nomination was sent to the Senate and referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Monday. Wright’s hearing is scheduled for June 25 at 10 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s executive director of operations, Mirela Gavrilas, has announced her retirement from the independent agency, effective June 28.   Gavrilas told the NRC staff of her retirement in an emailed statement, according to an NRC spokesperson. “Serving as your EDO [Executive Director of Operations] this last year has been the absolute highlight of […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Christopher Hanson was fired late Friday June 13 by President Donald Trump, according to Hanson’s Monday LinkedIn post. “Late on Friday, President Trump terminated my position with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees,” Hanson said A NRC spokesperson […]

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-to-3 Wednesday that the state of Texas and Fasken Land and Minerals are not eligible to seek legal review of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license issued to Interim Storage Partners for a private spent fuel facility in West Texas. “Because Texas and Fasken were not parties to the Commission’s licensing […]

The Department of Energy has announced a new pilot program to expedite the testing of advanced nuclear reactor designs at DOE’s national laboratories. The DOE intends to streamline the nuclear reactor testing and hopes to have “at least three reactors achieve criticality by July 4, 2026,” according to its Wednesday press release. Created in accordance […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently released an 18-month review schedule for X-Energy’s construction permit application for its advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. The NRC provided estimated dates for the Rockville, Md. based nuclear technology company construction permit application’s safety and environmental reviews on June 10. For the safety review milestones, the agency expects […]

Oklo’s subsidiary Atomic Alchemy has begun site characterization work for a potential radioisotope production facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The Santa Clara, Calif. based advanced nuclear technology company Oklo made the announcement in a Tuesday press release. Its subsidiary, Atomic Alchemy, is based in Idaho Falls, Idaho and focuses on providing […]

The World Bank’s board has agreed to end its ban on funding nuclear energy projects in developing countries to meet electricity needs, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The change in position was outlined in an email from World Bank president Ajay Banga to staff after his meeting with the board on Tuesday, Reuters reported.  The World […]

Amazon and Talen Energy have entered into a new power purchase agreement to provide 1,920 megawatts of electricity to Amazon from its Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Pa. Within the new deal, the Houston, Texas based power producing company will provide electricity to global tech company Amazon’s data center campus and operations that […]

The National Transportation Stakeholders Forum will hold a webinar on June 18 to discuss the Department of Energy’s High Burnup Research Cask project. The DOE’s High Burnup Research Cask (HBURC) project centers around a container of spent nuclear fuel that holds high burnup fuel. High burnup fuel comes from nuclear fuel kept in a nuclear […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced on June 5 that it has awarded vouchers to three nuclear companies from its Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program to research nuclear fuel and materials. The DOE’s GAIN vouchers allow for companies to use research facilities and expertise through DOE’s national laboratories to […]

WASHINGTON, D.C – The Donald Trump administration’s nuclear-related executive orders can open up the international nuclear market through a bolstered domestic nuclear supply, a panel said at a summit Tuesday.  A panel of executives from BWX Technologies, NuScale Power, Terrestrial Energy, Urenco USA and Westinghouse spoke on the elements for global success in the nuclear […]

SAVANNAH, GA – The Supreme Court will probably rule by July 3 on whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authority to license privately-held interim storage facilities, a leading nuclear industry lawyer said during the 19th Radwaste Summit. That was the assessment offered Tuesday by Michael McBride, a partner with Van Ness Feldman during the opening […]

The Great British Energy – Nuclear, formerly known as Great British Nuclear, has chosen Rolls-Royce SMR as its small modular reactor vendor for its upcoming nuclear projects. GBE-N, a nuclear energy and fuel company owned by the United Kingdom government, has pledged over £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion US$) for a small modular reactor program, according […]

Centrus Energy executive Shahram Ghasemian will step down from the company later this month, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission Filing. In the June 6 SEC filing, Ghasemian, who is the company’s senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary, has given notice to Centrus that he will resign from his […]

The Donald Trump administration’s nuclear executive orders are a “significant step forward” for accelerated nuclear deployment, but could undermine the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an American Nuclear Society expert group said recently. On May 23, the Trump administration released a handful of executive orders to speed up new reactor licensing and construction and generally bolster the […]

SAVANNAH, GA.—With interest in nuclear energy the highest it has been in years, attaining public trust is vital to development of new reactors and waste disposal projects. That was a recurring theme here during Exchange Monitor’s 19th Radwaste Summit. Only a few years ago, state legislatures across the country would propose a handful of nuclear-related […]

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited has selected BWX Technologies-led Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada as the preferred bidder for the C$1.2-billion per year contract to manage Canadian National Laboratories. Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada are made of three primary partners of BWXT Government Group, Amentum Environment and Energy, and Kinectrics. Battelle Memorial Institute is also […]