Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

WASHINGTON – The scalability of advanced reactor technologies is the next milestone for the nuclear industry, multiple industry representatives and officials told a House Science subcommittee on Energy Wednesday. Joe Hoagland, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory associate director for fission and fusion science, said during the hearing that the DOE’s reactor pilot […]

Fuel loading is underway at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, marking one of the key final steps toward restarting the reactor that shut down in 2022, Holtec International announced Sunday. “We are thrilled to announce that Palisades began the process for loading nuclear fuel into the plant’s reactor vessel this morning, marking a historic […]

Multiple blue state attorneys this week announced their opposition to various Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemakings called for in President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14300 in May 2025.  A coalition of attorneys general made up of California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington submitted comments Monday on the rulemakings affecting radiation […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced six nuclear energy-related bills out of committee to the full House after a three-hour markup hearing Wednesday. The nuclear bills made up six of the 10 pieces of legislation approved during the markup. All nuclear bills were passed with bipartisan support with none receiving any no-votes. This comes […]

Paul Murray, who has spent decades working on nuclear-related issues in the government and private sectors, could retire soon from the Department of Energy, according to industry sources. Currently a senior adviser for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Murray has informed department brass about his plans to retire within days, according to an industry source. […]

By Ho K. Nieh, Chairman, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  Nuclear energy is entering a new era. Across the United States and around the world, countries are looking to nuclear power to provide reliable electricity, strengthen energy security, and support economic growth. Advanced reactors and other innovative technologies are creating opportunities that would have been difficult […]

Ur-Energy completed its first shipment of uranium from its Shirley Basin uranium mine to its Lost Creek processing facility in Wyoming, the company said in an Aug. 20 press release. Casper, Wyo.-based Ur-Energy previously announced plans to begin mining uranium at its Shirley Basin site in April and received authorization from the Wyoming Department of […]

WASHINGTON – The United States’ civil nuclear cooperation agreement, or 123 agreement, with Saudi Arabia has been sent to Congress for review, Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed Wednesday to reporters at a press conference. Wright spoke with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi at IAEA’s Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea, […]

Indianapolis-based First American Nuclear Company (FANCO) has submitted what it calls a “regulatory engagement plan” with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility. FANCO said in its Aug. 17 press release it plans to make its own fuel, using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), for its 240-megawatt EAGL-1 lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled fast small […]

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas agreed to partner up to explore small modular reactors (SMRs) for maritime purposes. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel and Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) from the House Appropriations’ Energy and Water subcommittee were all in attendance for the signing […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding an uncontested hearing on Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Central Time in Port Lavaca, Texas on X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR) project in Seadrift, Texas. The uncontested hearing, or mandatory hearing, will give public members an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about X-energy’s construction permit application, according […]

Fremont, Calif.-based Pacific Fusion broke ground in Albuquerque, N.M. for its $1 billion fusion research and manufacturing campus Tuesday morning. The fusion company plans to build a fusion facility at the campus that will contain its demonstration fusion system, which is hoped to achieve net facility gain by 2030, according to Pacific Fusion’s Tuesday press […]

The Department of Energy and a handful of its contractors are gearing up to receive a high burnup research cask shipment at the Idaho National Laboratory in the coming year. The high burnup research cask will be shipped out of Dominion Energy’s North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va. DOE said last June it will […]

WASHINGTON – The next potential nuclear growth sector is moving commercial ships across the ocean, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the head of an international organization said here Wednesday.  Kicking off the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS) initiative, Wright, along with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, said […]

The Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) selected 13 new reactor projects this week to participate in DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative. According to a Monday DOE Idaho National Laboratory (INL) press release, NRIC, which is located at INL, announced these 12 reactor companies as the following participants to complete 13 projects: […]

Almost a year after the Janus program was announced in October 2025, the United States Army selected five nuclear companies and awarded a collective of $2.2 billion to them to build over 20 microreactors across several military installations. According to the Army’s Wednesday press release, the five companies are Antares Nuclear, BWX Technologies, General Atomics, […]

The Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program succeeded in moving the U.S. nuclear industry forward, but is only the first step in building reactors faster and more economically, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director John Wagner told Exchange Monitor. During the Aug. 6 interview, Wagner also said streamlining of federal environmental rules by the Donald Trump […]

Holtec’s HI-TEST facility, located at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is preparing for key components to be fabricated and installed at the facility, the company said this week. The HI-TEST facility will serve as a one-third representation of its SMR-300 small modular reactor (SMR) plant and to calculate performance margins in the […]

Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear has recently signed long-term nuclear fuel agreements with El Segundo, Calif.-based microreactor developer Radiant Nuclear and Torrance, Calif.-based Antares Nuclear. Standard Nuclear announced a deal with Radiant that goes through the early 2030s on Aug. 20 and the Antares’ deal announced on Thursday is scheduled to go through 2035. Under […]

Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactor system successfully reached zero-power criticality at a testing facility at the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) this week, the company said. Westinghouse said in a Tuesday press release that the milestone was achieved at 10:39 p.m.  Pacific Time on Monday at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) facility, the […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee is working on a framework for a stopgap funding resolution to keep the federal government through Dec. 11 and the full Senate was expected to vote on it sometime Friday.  The government’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Unless a bill codifies that funding is rolled over into the next fiscal […]

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies (BWXT), Lynchburg, Va., in the 2nd quarter, which the government contractor attributed to growing interest in the nuclear industry. Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were $89.1 million, or $0.97 a share, up from $78.5 million, or $0.85 a share, in the year-ago quarter, according to the […]

X-energy’s subsidiary TRISO-X acquired an additional 70 acres adjacent to its nuclear fuel campus in Oak Ridge, Tenn. this week. X-energy said Tuesday in a press release that this acquisition brings the total campus size to 180 acres. This purchase of land comes a few weeks after the Tennessee state government awarded X-energy $11 million […]

Exchange Monitor is entering its annual August break that occurs while Congress is in recess. As a result, Radwaste & Materials Monitor will not be published on Friday Aug. 14 and Friday Aug. 21. The normal weekly publication schedule will resume on Friday Aug. 28. News folks will still be on duty during the break […]

Oklo’s Groves isotope test reactor achieved zero-powered criticality late Wednesday, making it the fifth reactor under a Department of Energy reactor initiative to reach that milestone.  The completed criticality test comes after DOE approved Oklo’s nuclear startup authorization last month. Oklo said in a Thursday press release that the Groves isotope test reactor achieved criticality […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is hosting a webinar Aug. 10 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss a recent rulemaking that touches on changes to its radiation protection standards. The webinar will be held via Microsoft Teams and will have a question and answer session within it, according to NRC’s July 28 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monday issued a draft environmental assessment (EA) finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for NextEra Energy’s Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. With the issuance of the draft environmental documents, NRC is also seeking public input, according to the Federal Register notice. The comment period closes on Sept. 2. According to […]

Devens, Mass.-based fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) raised $1 billion in additional equity funding, the company said July 30. CFS said in a press release the $1 billion financing round is the largest a fusion company has had since 2021 when CFS had a $1.8 billion Series B round then. This recent funding builds […]