National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) produced its first enriched uranium “button” using an “electrorefining” process at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the agency said in a press release. The electrorefining project was authorized for startup in September, and marks the first time such a process has been used in 15 […]

Sandia National Laboratories is hosting its 2026 Small Business Opportunities Fair March 26, the lab said in a press release. The third annual fair will take place at the Marriott Albuquerque Uptown in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the lab said. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Mountain time next Thursday.  “This event brings together small businesses, Department […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is conducting low-altitude helicopter flights March 16 through March 19 over the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio, the agency said in an email last week. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last July extended the operating license for the Vistra Corp. nuclear plant by 20 years.  The NNSA’s aerial measuring […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is restarting HB-Line operations in order to recycle surplus plutonium and produce uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for advanced reactors. DOE announced the restart in a Friday March 6 press release. It did not reveal a specific date for the restart driven by President Donald […]

PHOENIX – The land-constrained Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco, Calif. must demolish decaying old buildings covering a third of its footprint over the next 16 years, Livermore manager Mark Costella said here Tuesday. Livermore’s main Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) campus takes up only one square mile, Costella said. As […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) greenlighted the start of full construction, or Critical Decision 2/3, for the High-Fidelity Training and Operations Center (HFTOC) at Savannah River Site. The HFTOC will function as a training facility, or a mock facility, for the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility’s Main Processing Building, according to a Monday press […]

PHOENIX – The land-constrained Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco, Calif. must demolish decaying old buildings covering a third of its footprint over the next 16 years, Livermore manager Mark Costella said here Tuesday. Livermore’s main Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) campus takes up only one square mile, Costella said. As […]

PHOENIX – The land-constrained Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco, Calif. must demolish decaying old buildings covering a third of its footprint over the next 16 years, Livermore manager Mark Costella said here Tuesday. Livermore’s main Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) campus takes up only one square mile, Costella said. As […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) greenlighted the start of full construction, or Critical Decision 2/3, for the High-Fidelity Training and Operations Center (HFTOC) at Savannah River Site. The HFTOC will function as a training facility, or a mock facility, for the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility’s Main Processing Building, according to a Monday press […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday Feb. 27 released the highly anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for management and operations (M&O) of the Savannah River Site. The RFP is for a standalone performance-based contract, according to NNSA’s press release on the RFP. The base contract period would be five years, […]

Cumulative cost and schedule overruns have increased since 2023 for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) portfolio of major projects in the execution phase, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). As of June 2025, the NNSA’s portfolio’s cumulative cost overrun has increased from $2.1 billion in 2023 to $4.8 billion, the […]

Nicole Nelson-Jean, formerly the associate administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Infrastructure, is now the principal associate administrator of NNSA’s Office of Environment, Safety and Health, according to her LinkedIn profile. A source told the Exchange Monitor Nelson-Jean will be deputy to Ahmad Al-Daouk, the associate administrator for the office.  Nelson-Jean’s […]

President Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to “immediately cease” working with technology from artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has designated the company a “supply chain risk.” The Pentagon last July awarded Anthropic along with Google, OpenAI and xAI deals each worth up to $200 million to leverage their generative […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is preparing to start shipping remote-handled transuranic waste, which is more radioactive than the contact-handled variety, to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Feb. 25 news release that Amentum-led cleanup contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition is using a […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday Feb. 27 released the highly anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for management and operations (M&O) of the Savannah River Site. The RFP is for a standalone performance-based contract, according to NNSA’s press release on the RFP. The base contract period would be five years, […]

Nicole Nelson-Jean, formerly the associate administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Infrastructure, is now the principal associate administrator of NNSA’s Office of Environment, Safety and Health, according to her LinkedIn profile. A source told the Exchange Monitor Nelson-Jean will be deputy to Ahmad Al-Daouk, the associate administrator for the office.  Nelson-Jean’s […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday released the highly anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for management and operations (M&O) of the Savannah River Site. The RFP is for a standalone performance-based contract, according to NNSA’s press release on the RFP. The base contract period would be five years, not including […]

David Beck, deputy administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), sent a memo Feb. 11 outlining “transformation objectives” for nuclear weapons at the agency. The memo was sent to the DOE’s semi-autonomous agency’s laboratories, contractors and senior officials. It lists objectives considered “achievable” by the end of calendar year 2028, and […]

Kairos Power and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have entered into a $27 million partnership to focus on accelerating advanced nuclear technology. “DOE’s support has been instrumental in helping Kairos Power accelerate our path to technological maturity,” Ed Blandford, Kairos chief technology officer and co-founder, said in ONRL’s Feb. 19 press […]

A long-running lawsuit brought by an employee over implementation of a federal contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ended just months before a planned jury trial. A Jan. 30 filing with the federal district court in Knoxville, Tenn., indicate plaintiff Jeff Bilyeu and employer UT-Battelle, which runs Oak […]

David Beck, deputy administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), sent a memo Feb. 11 outlining “transformation objectives” for nuclear weapons at the agency. The memo was sent to the DOE’s semi-autonomous agency’s laboratories, contractors and senior officials. It lists objectives considered “achievable” by the end of calendar year 2028, and […]

The Air Force faces software design challenges for Northrop Grumman’s future LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). “Sentinel is software-intensive, and development progress remains slower than anticipated,” the new GAO two-page ‘national security snapshot‘ on Sentinel said. “These delays have raised concerns from program officials about the prime […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the tech powerhouse Nvidia have partnered to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate nuclear reactor development. The partnership stems from President Donald Trump administration’s Genesis Mission, according to INL’s Tuesday press release. The Genesis Mission comes from a Trump executive order in November that calls for […]

The Department of Energy has approved the safety analysis for its Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) project at Idaho National Laboratory Wednesday. “The MARVEL project, under the DOE Microreactor Program, aims to advance the integration and application of microreactors in various industries, providing a unique opportunity for companies to learn from, collaborate, test […]

The Air Force is to start construction this month of a prototype silo for the Sentinel LGM-35A future intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by Northrop Grumman, the service said on Tuesday. The construction is in advance of a planned Pentagon engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) recertification decision on the ballistic missile this year and a first […]

The path to achieve the White House’s call for a $1.5 trillion defense topline in 2027 appears murkier now after President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the prospects of a second reconciliation bill. After Republicans included $150 billion for defense in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signs pointed to a push […]

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the tech powerhouse Nvidia have partnered to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate nuclear reactor development. The partnership stems from President Donald Trump administration’s Genesis Mission, according to INL’s Tuesday press release. The Genesis Mission comes from a Trump executive order in November that calls for […]

The Department of Energy said this week it launched a consortium, or public-private partnership, to support the Donald Trump administration’s Genesis Mission in using artificial intelligence (AI) to expedite research and strengthen national security. According to DOE’s press release, the consortium will feature capabilities from DOE, the national laboratories, the private sector and academic institutions. […]

The Department of Energy has approved the preliminary documented safety analysis for Hawthorne, Calif.-based nuclear company Valar Atomics’s demonstration reactor Thursday. The announcement of the completed safety analysis was made by DOE Idaho Operations Manager Robert Boston in a Friday LinkedIn post. Valar becomes the third demonstration reactor under DOE’s pilot reactor program to get […]

Triad National Security is looking to buy a better instrument for taking gamma measurements of transuranic (TRU) waste drums ultimately expected to end up at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. Triad, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) prime contractor for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is seeking something […]