National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is embracing a culture of urgency and shifting from a scientific to production mindset, according to Administrator Brandon Williams Tuesday in his day 2 keynote at Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. “Urgency requires a fundamental, fundamental shift in how we work,” Williams said of the Department […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Scott Pappano, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said Tuesday that Savannah River can still play a “supporting role” in pit production between now and the completion of its pit production facility. Pappano gave a keynote on the second day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. NNSA must […]

ARLINGTON, VA – The second-highest person at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday he is “absolutely considering contracting differently.” Scott Pappano, NNSA’s principal deputy administrator, gave a keynote on the second day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. “The world I came from, you know, in shipbuilding, advanced procurement was very much a […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday issued the much-anticipated draft solution for management and operation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The draft request for proposals (RFP) said bidders will be encouraged to offer updated technical approaches to making plutonium pits at the complex. According to a Jan. 27 procurement document, […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Proposals are being assessed for contractors looking to build and power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers at Savannah River Site, the site’s field manager said in a panel on a snowy first day of  Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. Due to inclement weather, Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration […]

ARLINGTON, VA -The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its contractors must modernize key infrastructure quickly, a Kiewit Nuclear executive said here Monday. “We are at an inflection point,” Mike Rinehart, president of Kiewit Nuclear Solutions, told Exchange Monitor’s annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit Monday afternoon. “The nuclear security enterprise is expected […]

BWX Technologies said Monday it has opened its Centrifuge Manufacturing Development in Oak Ridge, Tenn., supporting national defense-focused uranium enrichment for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).  BWXT, based in Lynchburg, Va., was awarded a $1.5 billion-value contract from NNSA in September to assist NNSA in creating a reliable supply of enriched […]

The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed a record of 13 tritium extractions between fiscal 2025 and 2026, the agency said Jan. 23. This extraction amount was completed in nine months, the agency’s press release said. The previous record was eight extractions in 12 months between fiscal 2022 and 2023. “This […]

Kairos Power has finalized a contract with the Department of Energy to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for its Hermes demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn. In Kairos’s Tuesday press release, the company said it will use the material to produce HALEU tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel pebbles for Hermes 1. It will also partner up […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded Amazon Web Services (AWS) a contract,worth up to $30.7 million, to complete high-performance computing support and data processing services for the agency. The sole source contract, which has a $10-million floor, is named “AWS Genesis Demonstrator,” and the NNSA Weapons Activities Office provided the funds. The agreement is […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management has hired a longtime federal hand, Lara Beasley, to be its deputy director.   Beasley comes to DOE Legacy Management from DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Legacy Management office announced in a December press release. A native of the Chicago area, Beasley has worked with […]

Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), told the Exchange Monitor Wednesday it is “certainly not my job to agree” with President Donald Trump on whether to return to nuclear testing. “You know, the president is the Commander in Chief, the president will make all of these decisions,” Williams said in response […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina has hired Roderick Jackson as its associate laboratory director for the science, energy and innovation directorate. The science, energy and innovation directorate focuses on integrating fundamental research, energy reliability and innovation within a cohesive and mission-driven framework, according to a Jan. 14 press release.  […]

Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), told the Exchange Monitor Wednesday it is “certainly not my job to agree” with President Donald Trump on whether to return to nuclear testing. “You know, the president is the Commander in Chief, the president will make all of these decisions,” Williams said in response […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded Amazon Web Services (AWS) a contract,worth up to $30.7 million, to complete high-performance computing support and data processing services for the agency. The sole source contract, which has a $10-million floor, is named “AWS Genesis Demonstrator,” and the NNSA Weapons Activities Office provided the funds. The agreement is […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina has hired Roderick Jackson as its associate laboratory director for the science, energy and innovation directorate. The science, energy and innovation directorate focuses on integrating fundamental research, energy reliability and innovation within a cohesive and mission-driven framework, according to a Jan. 14 press release. […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management has hired a longtime federal hand, Lara Beasley, to be its deputy director.   Beasley comes to DOE Legacy Management from DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Legacy Management office announced in a December press release. A native of the Chicago area, Beasley has worked with […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  January 20: NRC meeting: The meeting on license renewal issues starts at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.  26: Conference: Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit is set for Jan. 26 through 28 in Arlington, Va.  27: Meeting the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board […]

The top lawmaker on the House’s Navy acquisition oversight panel on Wednesday backed the Donald Trump administration’s plan to build a new fleet of battleships, calling the initiative a “great idea.” Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), chair of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee also offered his support for the Trump administration’s recently […]

Brandon Williams, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), will give the keynote speech at an event hosted by the House Nuclear Security Working Group, Bechtel and the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center on the Capitol Wednesday. The Congressional Nuclear Security Working Group is chaired by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), whose district abuts […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), ranking member of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, told the Exchange Monitor last week the most recent bipartisan spending minibus shows lawmakers “making progress” with more work still to do. On Jan. 8, a three-bill minibus appropriations package that included fiscal 2026 funds for Energy and Water development, including […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Dec. 23 it was renewing a $25 million grant for five more years to a consortium of nine universities for research and development in nuclear science, engineering and security. The Nuclear Science and Security Consortium (NSSC) will fund $5 million every year for five years […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation Office led a U.S. delegation at the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence’s Nuclear Forensics User Group Annual Plenary, the agency said Dec. 15. NFUG involves scientists of U.S. national laboratories, the Pentagon, the DOE, the State Department and the UK counterparts of each agency. Its goal is […]

A three-bill minibus appropriations bill that includes funds for Energy and Water development, including $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), passed the House floor 397-28 Thursday. The bill was released by top appropriators in the Senate and House Monday on both sides of the aisle. Congress has until Jan. 30 to either […]

A three-bill minibus appropriations bill that includes funds for Energy and Water development, including $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), entered debate Wednesday on the House floor. The bill was released by top appropriators in the Senate and House Monday on both sides of the aisle. Congress has until Jan. 30 to […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Dec. 23 it was renewing a $25 million grant for five more years to a consortium of nine universities for research and development in nuclear science, engineering and security. The Nuclear Science and Security Consortium (NSSC) will fund $5 million every year for five years […]

Los Alamos Technical Associates (LATA), a New Mexico-based Department of Energy contractor, turns 50 on Jan. 1, the woman-owned small business announced this week. Founded in 1976, the company headquartered in Albuquerque now provides services to not only DOE and the Department of Defense but to other agencies including Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of […]

The fiscal year 2026 defense authorization bill is giving the Navy some flexibility in how it buys Columbia-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). The compromise bill, signed by President Donald Trump Dec. 18, allows the Navy to procure up to five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines starting next year.  The explanatory statement released with the bill […]