Ted Garrish, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, will be sworn in this Friday, according to a DOE Office of Nuclear Energy spokesperson.
Garrish has held the lead role of the Office of Nuclear Energy once before during the Ronald Reagan administration in the late 1980s.
Garrish was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 18, among other DOE nominees like Brandon Williams, who will lead the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Savannah River National Laboratory has named Dana Hewit as its deputy laboratory director for operations, effective mid-October.
Hewit formerly led the Office of Integrated Performance Management at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory prior to her recent appointment at SRNL.
“Dana brings deep experience in laboratory operations and a proven record of leadership,” SRNL director Johney Green said in a Sept. 15 press release. “Her expertise will be instrumental in strengthening SRNL’s operational capabilities as we continue to expand our mission impact.”
Eni and Commonwealth Fusion Systems have signed a power purchase agreement for over $1 billion, reinforcing their commitment to commercialize fusion power.
Eni, a global tech company that operates in 64 countries, will acquire power from CFS’s 400-megawatt ARC fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Va, according to CFS’s Monday press release. CFS hopes to have the fusion plant online by the early 2030s.
The power purchase agreement comes after CFS recently raised $863 million in its Series B2 round, in which Eni increased its investment in the Devens, Mass.-based fusion power technology company.
Deep Isolation has signed a licensing agreement with Navarro Research and Engineering.
The licensing agreement gives Navarro access to Deep Isolation’s patented borehole repository systems and canisters technologies for nuclear and hazardous waste management applications across the states of Idaho and Tennessee, according to Deep Isolation’s Sept. 18 press release.
While Navarro will leverage Deep Isolation’s intellectual property for nuclear solutions, the Berkeley, Calif.-based nuclear waste disposal technology company will still maintain ownership of all of its intellectual property. Navarro, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is a small company with several major Department of Energy contracts such as leading a team managing the 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state.