A projectile near Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant reactor “hit and destroyed” a structure 350 meters away Tuesday night, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency on X.
“Although there was no damage to the reactor itself nor injuries to staff, any attack at or near nuclear power plants violates the seven indispensable pillars related to ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict and should never take place,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on X.
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 years since the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The process was reportedly a long time in the making at Y-12, and involves electrochemical uranium metal purification technology, a process developed at Argonne National Laboratory to convert impure uranium metal into purified uranium metal.
The buttons made out of uranium metal will be used in classified weapons parts, and will “support national security missions, including the production of nuclear weapons and supplying uranium that powers U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and submarines,” the release said.
AtkinsRéalis and Nvidia are working together to explore integration of the global tech company’s technologies to potentially advance nuclear-powered artificial intelligence (AI) factories.
Montreal, Canada-based AtkinsRéalis said in a Monday press release that this collaboration could help it design a three-dimensional “digital twin” of infrastructure prior to real world construction.
With AtkinsRéalis having the exclusive technology rights to the Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor, the two companies will explore opportunities in nuclear integration, data center engineering and new and accelerated methods for project delivery, according to the release. This collaboration also comes after Nvidia and the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory announced plans to team up to use AI to accelerate nuclear reactor development, stemming from the Genesis Mission.
Michael Budney, who formerly led Department of Energy operations at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, has accepted a director post at Mission Technologies, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) in Canberra, Australia.
Budney announced the appointment Friday March 13 on his LinkedIn page. In the new role Budney will work with the Australian Submarine Agency, according to the LinkedIn page.
Budney ran the Savannah River field office for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management for seven years, until February 2025. Before that, he worked about three years for DOE’s Office of Business Operations. Budney worked about six years for Northrop Grumman after spending 30 years in the U.S. Navy. When Budney retired from the Navy in 2009 he was the deputy director of U.S. Nuclear Command & Control System support staff.
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 of Energy (DOE) laboratories, plants, and sites to explore contracting opportunities, procurement requirements, and resources across the DOE complex,” the release said.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said March 12 all five labor union bargain units at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., ratified new collective bargaining agreements running through March 2031, according to a press release.
The five bargaining units include members of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Office and Professional Employees International Union, International Association of Machinists, and the United Federation of Special Police and Security Officers. The agreements include an immediate 18% or higher base wage increase for unionized shipbuilders, which it called the largest single wage increase in the shipyard’s history.
Beyond the immediate wage hikes, the agreement also provides 35-47% wage growth overall through 2031, with company leadership expecting this to improve shipyard recruitment and attrition. Negotiations between company leadership and union representative concluded on Feb. 12, leading to the vote and ratification by the union memberships.