Nuclear News

Nieh

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a nomination hearing Wednesday for Ho Nieh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Trump nominated Nieh on July 30 to serve as NRC commissioner the remainder of a term that will expire June 30, 2029, as Nuclear NewsWire previously reported.

Nieh has been vice president of regulatory affairs at Southern Nuclear since 2021, though since June 2024 he has been at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations as a loaned executive.

A return to the NRC: If confirmed by the Senate, Nieh would be returning to the NRC after three previous stints totaling nearly 20 years.

Duke Energy is looking to add large light water reactors and small modular reactors to its fleet in the coming years to meet increased energy demands expected in its southeast region.

Earlier this year, Nuclear Waste Services, the radioactive waste management subsidiary of the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, hosted a group of five teenagers for a week of exposure to real-world work environments at its facilities in Calderbridge, Cumbria. The students learned about career opportunities and leadership responsibilities at the company while they engaged with senior management and performed activities with several NWS teams, including employees in the environmental, waste characterization, cybersecurity, human resources, and geological disposal facility grants departments.

Hash Hashemian
president@ans.org

The theme of this year’s Winter Conference—already less than two months away—is “Building the Nuclear Century.” This focus reflects one of my chief goals during my presidency: streamlining the deployment of new power plants. However, I want to emphasize that this call to build extends far beyond a sole focus on new commercial reactors. As an industry, it’s critical that we keep momentum going across every area that supports the nuclear community.

So, while new reactor announcements are undeniably exciting and a logical benchmark to see the positive progress we’re making, we must continue to ensure that there is space to elevate, focus on, and celebrate crucial work in the fields of isotope production, waste management, public outreach, workforce training, and beyond. The call to build is a call to innovate and collaborate in every sector. It’s a call we need to follow.

As the only Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management–sponsored national lab, Savannah River National Laboratory has a history deeply rooted in environmental stewardship efforts such as nuclear material processing and disposition technologies. SRNL’s demonstrated expertise is now being leveraged to solve nuclear fuel supply -chain obstacles by providing a source of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel for advanced reactors.

In August, there was much buzz about the Food and Drug Administration ordering a recall on frozen shrimp imported from Indonesia that was found to be contaminated with cesium-137. While the level of radioactivity in the shrimp was orders of magnitude below a level that would cause any measurable harm to consumers, the concentration of Cs-137 was nonetheless unusual.

Over the past several weeks, there has been a lot of activity on the nuclear front in Kansas, ranging from new nuclear sitings to investments.

At a glance: TerraPower signed a memorandum of understanding with Evergy and the Kansas government on small modular reactors; Deep Fission announced investments in Kansas, Utah, and Texas; and the Kansas Board of Regents will invest $15 million in energy projects. Read on to get more information on these items.

Energy company Ansaldo Energia recently hosted a ceremony at its headquarters in Genoa, Italy, marking the launch of the Master in Technologies for Nuclear Power Plants program, which it developed in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano. A call for graduates in engineering, physics, and chemistry issued in May attracted more than 300 applications, 26 of which were selected for the program.

Canadian uranium provider Cameco has calculated an end-of-September spot price for uranium of $82.63 per pound—the highest mark of 2025. The lowest spot price listed all year by Cameco was $64.23 per pound at the end of March, while the previous high was $78.50 per pound at the end of June.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized Urenco USA to enrich uranium up to 10 percent U-235 following changes to plant systems and procedures and an operational readiness review. The company announced the news today, two days after the NRC issued its authorization on September 30 and said that all existing and future cascades at its Eunice, N.M., enrichment facility will be licensed to produce both low-enriched uranium, typically enriched to 5 percent fissile U-235, and LEU+, between 5 and 10 percent U-235.

Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

New international partnership to speed Xe-100 SMR deployment

X-energy, Amazon, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and Doosan Enerbility have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactors and TRISO fuel in the United States to meet the power demands from data centers and AI. The partners will collaborate in reactor engineering design, supply-chain development, construction planning, investment strategies, long-term operations, and global opportunities for joint AI-nuclear deployment. The companies also plan to jointly mobilize as much as $50 billion in public and private investment to support advanced nuclear energy in the U.S.

The Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will furlough thousands of employees and operate at reduced capacity under a government shutdown that started after midnight on October 1 following a failed congressional vote on a short-term funding bill.

The Department of Energy has fast-tracked its selections for the Fuel Line Pilot Program. Four companies—Oklo, Terrestrial Energy, TRISO-X, and Valar Atomics—were named September 30 as “conditional selections” for a “fast-track approach to commercial licensing,” bringing the total to five. The first company conditionally chosen for a DOE-authorized fuel fabrication facility—Standard Nuclear—was named less than three weeks after the program opened to applicants in July.

Kock

Andrea Kock was named director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.

Kock was previously the Region I administrator in King of Prussia, Pa., and had been serving recently as temporary head of the NMSS.

NMSS licenses and regulates the facilities and materials associated with the processing, transport, and handling of nuclear materials, including uranium recovery activities and the fuel used in commercial nuclear reactors. The office also implements the NRC’s Agreement State program; liaises with American Indian tribal governments; and supports agency rulemaking, environmental review, and financial assurance projects.

After making waves last week at Idaho National Laboratory by breaking ground on its first Aurora Powerhouse reactor, Oklo has again made headlines this week by partnering with Stockholm, Sweden–based advanced reactor developer Blykalla.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses of NextEra Energy’s Point Beach Units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years. The Two Rivers, Wis., plant will now be able to operate into the 2050s.

The Office of Radiological Security of the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has partnered with Texas A&M University to fight the New World screwworm (NWS), a devastating pest that damages—and sometimes kills—livestock, wildlife, pets, and humans.

Jennifer Wheeler

In this new era of nuclear, the word “scalable” can mean many different things. From new advanced reactor designs that can meet the diverse needs of big power users like hyperscalers to industrial process heat applications, and from remote rural communities to new fuel cycle facilities (conversion, enrichment, deconversion, fuel fabrication), there is much to consider when predicting and meeting developing demand signals.

The biggest challenge in scaling fuel fabrication is recognizing that scaling applies to much more than taking the specific process equipment used to manufacture fuel products from pilot scale to commercial scale to nth-of-a-kind scale. For a first-of-a-kind fuel facility where there is no available reference facility to use as a basis, there is a delicate balance—and often an iterative dance—between fuel demand, right-sizing the facility, and project financing. Let’s focus on three major areas: factory throughput, staffing, and space.

Connecticut has become the 40th state in the union to sign an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that gives the state regulatory authority to manage certain radioactive materials within its borders.

Following the same milestones from Aalo Atomics and Valar Atomics, Santa Clara, Calif.–based reactor start-up Oklo has become the third company participating in the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program to break ground on its fast-tracked project at Idaho National Laboratory.