Framatome signed a commercial contract this week that allows it to provide nuclear fuel reload with uranium-235 over the industry standard of 5% to an operating reactor, which was not named in the release.
According to the company’s Monday press release, within the agreement, Framatome will provide a number of higher enriched fuel reloads using Advanced Fuel Management technology that will take place in spring 2028. This effort will take place under the Advanced Fuel Management program, a company initiative focused on providing fuel with higher enrichment and longer burnup limits.
Framatome said these advanced fuels will be developed and manufactured at its Richland, Wash. facility, which is undergoing several upgrades and modifications. The facility, located adjacent to the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, also received a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to fabricate fuel with higher enrichment levels.
The Department of Energy recently shipped 4,700 pounds of FLiBe salt to Natura Resources for its MSR-1 reactor located at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.
FLiBe salt is a mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride that when heated up into liquid, it could transfer heat through a reactor system, according to DOE’s Tuesday publication. Natura said in its company press release it received the shipment from DOE on Sept. 18 after DOE collaborated with Oak Ridge and Idaho National Laboratories to complete the shipment.
From 1965 to 1969, Oak Ridge National Laboratory operated the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment and has since stored the FLiBe material in inventory. Natura received the salt material after being selected through a DOE solicitation that was issued through Idaho National Laboratory in August 2025.
Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced legislation Sept. 16 that will ensure the Department of Energy financially supports high-paying jobs and domestic manufacturing where projects are built.
The bill, called the Good Energy Jobs Act, intends to codify “labor and community-benefit standards that the Department of Energy (DOE) has used as conditions for certain federal financial assistance, ensuring that taxpayer-supported energy projects provide tangible benefits to American workers and communities,” Budzinski said in her press statement.
The lawmakers said much of DOE’s investment has led to the private sector moving funds towards various energy projects across the nation, providing community benefits to where the projects are constructed. They hope passing the Good Energy Jobs Act would make those beneficial standards permanent.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission has added two new in-person hearings in November to hear more from the public about NextEra Energy’s proposal to merge with Dominion Energy.
The commission previously ordered a hearing to discuss the proposed $67 billion merger between the two utility holding companies on Nov. 5. However, it announced Sept. 9 two more will be added, but has not provided the dates for the new hearings yet.
The new hearings will also be in addition to three remote or telephone testimony periods that will be held on Nov. 5, 9 and 10. State Commissioner Samuel Towell said this action was driven by the influx of public commentary and input about the merger, as Richmond-based Dominion Energy accounts for nearly 60% of electricity sales in Virginia.