Nuclear News

At the end of his July 15 speech at the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, President Trump promised that “a lot more [was] going to be announced in the coming week” for the energy and AI sectors.

A research team led by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is studying a type of high-entropy alloy (HEA) that seems to withstand a cascade-involved irradiation environment at elevated temperatures better than stainless steel exposed to similar conditions. In a paper published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials, the researchers describe an HEA made of chromium, iron, manganese, and nickel (CrFeMnNi) that has the potential to improve the safety and functionality of nuclear reactors, as well as of spacecraft.

From 2003 to 2011, staff at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site downblended high-enriched uranium in the site’s H Canyon, producing over 300 metric tons (MT) of low-enriched uranium that was fabricated into fuel. The facility has since been idled, but downblending could soon begin again—this time to high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).

Kathryn Higley

For nearly a century, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements has served as the United States’ leading authority on radiation protection. Established in 1929 as the Advisory Committee on X-ray and Radium Protection, the NCRP was created in response to growing concerns about the health risks of radiation exposure following the discoveries of X-rays and radioactivity.

It was formally chartered by Congress in 1964 through Public Law 88-376, also known as the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Charter Act. The NCRP has provided science-­based guidance for the public, workers, and the environment. Its work spans a wide range of topics, including protecting patients and workers in medical, industrial, and environmental settings; supporting emergency preparedness; developing risk models for low-dose exposures; guiding safe practices for new technologies such as advanced nuclear reactors; and providing information on wireless communication devices.

BWX Technologies (BWXT) has achieved a key milestone in its project to additively manufacture advanced forms of TRISO fuel for Generation IV advanced nuclear reactors. The Lynchburg Technology Center of subsidiary company BWXT Advanced Technologies, located in Lynchburg, Va., has successfully installed and tested a chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) furnace that solidifies pre-forms that are then filled with TRISO particles, a fuel consisting of carbon and silicon layers surrounding a uranium kernel.

In back-to-back press releases, Oklo recently announced two new partnerships that seek to advance the deployment of its commercial power reactors in the data center market.

These partnerships, one with Ohio-based Vertiv Holdings and one with Colorado-based Liberty Energy, continue Oklo’s trend in working to position their Aurora powerhouse as a key part of the energy solution for powering the AI boom.

Leaders from private companies, government, and national laboratories gathered at Argonne National Laboratory on July 17 and 18 for an exclusive AI x Nuclear Energy Executive Summit that the Department of Energy called a first-of-its-kind forum to “align next-generation nuclear systems with the needs of digital infrastructure.”

Hash Hashemian
president@ans.org

I am deeply honored and grateful to have been elected president of the American Nuclear Society. Your support and confidence in me are truly humbling, and I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.

As president, my top priority is to expedite the deployment of new nuclear reactors, beginning with small modular reactors and eventually progressing to Generation IV systems. I will also work to ensure that the United States keeps its global leadership in this field. For the U.S. to do that, the federal government must maintain and expand its financial support of the nuclear industry by preserving critical incentives, tax provisions, and infrastructure investments.

Less than a week after news broke of the U.S. entering into civil nuclear talks with Malaysia, the U.S. State Department announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani have also signed a memorandum of understanding concerning civil nuclear cooperation.

The Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (NEMO) recently announced that it was officially granted nongovernmental organization consultative status with the International Maritime Organization.

The Department of Energy has announced a program to accelerate nuclear fuel fabrication for new test reactors. The Fuel Line Pilot Program would see the DOE approve facilities developed by U.S. companies to produce the fuel needed for test reactors the DOE expects to authorize under the Reactor Pilot Program announced in June. Like the reactors they’re meant to fuel, the fabrication facilities would be built on sites outside the DOE’s national laboratories but authorized by the DOE under “a fast-tracked approach to enable future commercial licensing activities for potential applicants.”

Burlison

Rep. Eric Burlison (R., Mo.), the chairman of the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, has announced a hearing on “The New Atomic Age: Advancing America’s Energy Future.”

The hearing will take place on Tuesday, July 22, at 1:00 pm (ET). Witnesses include Alex Epstein, president and founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, and Joshua Smith, energy policy lead at the Abundance Institute.

Details: According to the chairman’s office, the hearing will explore recent developments in nuclear energy technology, the commercial viability of advanced reactors, supply chain challenges, and policy pathways for Congress to strengthen nuclear power in the United States.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched an infographic design contest for young professionals aged 18 to 35 to raise awareness about emergency preparedness and response (EPR) in nuclear and radiological contexts.

Contest guidelines and terms can be found here.

Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.

Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.

A reactor vessel has been installed by Kairos Power for its third Engineering Test Unit (ETU 3.0) at the company’s campus in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Idaho National Laboratory has announced that it will collaborate with Microsoft on the use of artificial intelligence technologies to streamline the nuclear permitting and licensing application process. Using Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, INL will generate the engineering and safety analysis reports that are required to be submitted for construction permits and operating licenses for nuclear power plants.

Following the signing of a new agreement, Kiewit Nuclear Solutions, a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, is officially the lead constructor for Oklo’s first commercial Aurora powerhouse, which will be built at Idaho National Laboratory.

Representatives across all levels of Pennsylvania government convened at Carnegie Mellon University on July 15 with investors and key leaders in the energy community at the behest of Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.).

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which currently has three serving commissioners and—according to recent media reports—a detailee from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is accelerating licensing timelines to meet the requirements of President Trump’s May 23 Executive Order 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” and the ADVANCE Act. On top of that, the agency is preparing for an anticipated rush of applications while dealing with a reduced workforce.

The Boston-based Deon Policy Institute has published a white paper that examines the applications of nuclear energy in the maritime sector—specifically, floating nuclear power plants and nuclear propulsion for commercial vessels. Topics covered include available technologies, preliminary cost estimates, and a status update on the regulatory framework.

Unique opportunity: The paper points out that nuclear energy has the potential to benefit the shipping industry with high energy efficiency, lower operating costs, and zero carbon emissions. The report has a special focus on Greece, a nation that controls about 20 percent of the global commercial fleet and thus has an opportunity to take a leading role in the transition to nuclear-powered shipping.