DOE again awards $45 billion Hanford tank contract to H2C

March 4, 2024, 7:00AMRadwaste Solutions
Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant. (Photo: Bechtel National)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management once again awarded a 10-year, $45 billion contract to Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure (H2C) of Lynchburg, Va., for the cleanup of tank waste at the Hanford Site.

DOE issues final RFP for Portsmouth/Paducah support services contract

February 28, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has issued a final request for proposals for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) technical support services contract. The PPPO manages the department’s cleanup efforts at the two gaseous diffusion plant sites in Ohio and Kentucky.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry Update February 2024

February 2, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News

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UAE prepares for advanced nuclear

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear energy development organization, has signed several agreements regarding advanced reactors, many of which were signed at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update January 2024

January 4, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News

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DOE, DOD support X-energy’s microreactor work

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has signed a one-year cooperative agreement with X-energy designed to advance the development of a design for a transportable mobile microreactor. Under the agreement, the DOE will support X-energy’s work on the architecture and technology for the 3- to-5-MWe microreactor’s preliminary design. X-energy is also the recipient of a Department of Defense contract to develop an enhanced engineering design for a transportable microreactor that will be suitable for both defense and commercial applications.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update December 2023

December 19, 2023, 12:12PMNuclear News

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SMR power barge designs approved

The American Bureau of Shipping has approved in principle the designs for an offshore small modular reactor power barge from Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering and Kepco Engineering and Construction. Another collaborator on the project is the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry, which assisted ABS in design reviews. The SMR barges are designed to provide electricity for islands and other remote communities.

DOE issues draft RFP for Portsmouth/Paducah support services contract

December 19, 2023, 7:00AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has issued a draft request for proposal for technical support services contract for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO), which manages the department’s cleanup efforts at the two gaseous diffusion plant sites in Ohio and Kentucky.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update November 2023

November 28, 2023, 7:00AMNuclear News

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Centrus-Oklo partnership expands

Oklo, a California-based developer of next-generation fission reactors, has expanded its partnership with Centrus Energy, a Maryland-based supplier of nuclear fuel and services. The two companies have been cooperating since 2021 on the development of Centrus’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. According to the companies’ new memorandum of understanding, Centrus will manufacture certain components for Oklo’s Aurora “powerhouse” reactor, a fast neutron reactor designed to generate up to 15 MW of power and operate for at least 10 years without refueling. The Aurora is also designed to produce usable heat. Centrus also has agreed to purchase electricity generated by the Aurora reactors, while Oklo has agreed to purchase HALEU fuel from the Piketon facility. The facility is expected to begin fuel production before the end of the year.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update October 2023

October 26, 2023, 12:07PMNuclear News

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TerraPower signs contracts to advance Natrium

TerraPower and Centrus Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their collaboration in the development of commercial-scale production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to fuel TerraPower’s Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor, which is designed with a molten salt–based energy storage system. TerraPower is planning its Natrium demonstration project for a site in Kemmerer, Wyo., with a target operational date of 2030. Centrus plans to produce as much as 20 kilograms of fuel by the end of 2023 at its production facility in Piketon, Ohio, and to further scale up production with additional centrifugal cascades.

Draft RFP issued for $3 billion West Valley cleanup contract

September 1, 2023, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
A West Valley ancillary support building is demolished in 2018. (Photo: DOE/CH2M Hill–BWXT West Valley)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has issued a draft request for proposal for a contract covering the next phase of cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update

August 8, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News

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International SMR collaboration launched

The nine member states of the International Nuclear Regulators’ Association (INRA)—Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States—have agreed to collaborate on the generic design assessment and licensing of small modular reactor technologies. According to a statement released by the organization, the internationally standardized reactor designs would aid in the facilitation of efficient regulatory reviews, although local issues such as siting and environmental factors must be addressed by national regulatory agencies. The INRA members expressed their support for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Nuclear Harmonisation and Standards Initiative, but they stressed that independent, national regulatory reviews should not be replaced by an international approach.

DOE-EM awards $5.87 billion Portsmouth D&D contract

July 17, 2023, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
Portsmouth’s X-326 Process Building undergoes demolition in 2022. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management awarded a 10-year contract worth up to $5.87 billion to Southern Ohio Cleanup Company (SOCCo) of Aiken, S.C., for the decontamination and decommissioning of the DOE’s Portsmouth site in southern Ohio. SOCCo is a newly formed limited liability company comprising Amentum Environment and Energy, Fluor Federal Services, and Cavendish Nuclear (USA) Inc.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update

July 12, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News

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Paragon to supply I&C for Xe-100 SMR

Paragon Energy Solutions and X-energy Reactor Company have entered into a preferred supplier agreement by which Paragon will be the exclusive worldwide supplier for three crucial instrumentation and control systems for X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors: the reactor protection system, post-event monitoring system, and neutron instrumentation system. The new agreement builds on an existing partnership between the two companies in the areas of critical safety mechanisms, which also includes Paragon’s HIPS FPGA system.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update

June 6, 2023, 9:35AMNuclear News

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Partnership formed to study X-energy’s SMR in commercial conditions

X-energy and Kinectrics have launched a partnership to design, build, and operate a commercial-scale test facility to study the performance of the Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor in helium--based high-temperature, high--pressure operating conditions. The test facility, the site for which is to be announced sometime this summer, may be completed and operational by 2025.

Jacobs awarded ITER diagnostics and maintenance contract

May 1, 2023, 7:00AMNuclear News
Inside the ITER tokamak assembly hall. (Photo: ITER Organization)

The engineering company Jacobs announced last week that it has been awarded a four-year contract to design and engineer remotely operated tools for the ITER fusion project in southern France. The contract, which includes a possible two-year extension, covers work on up to 25 diagnostic ports and systems used for operating and sustaining the ITER experimental machine, which is currently under construction.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update

April 24, 2023, 9:46AMNuclear News

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Ultra Safe and Framatome reach TRISO agreement

Ultra Safe Nuclear and Framatome have signed a nonbinding agreement to manufacture commercial quantities of TRISO fuel for advanced reactor designs, including USNC’s Micro Modular Reactor. It is expected that the manufacturing of both TRISO fuel particles and USNC’s fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel will begin in late 2025, with production capacity being made available to the broader global commercial market. At-scale production lines for these materials have been demonstrated at USNC’s Pilot Fuel Manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the first privately funded producer of TRISO fuel particles in the United States.

DOE awards $45 billion Hanford tank waste contract

April 14, 2023, 9:29AMRadwaste Solutions
Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant. (Photo: Bechtel National)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management awarded a 10-year contract worth up to $45 billion to Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure (H2C) of Lynchburg, Va., to oversee the management of liquid radioactive tank waste at the DOE’s Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update

March 6, 2023, 3:00PMNuclear News

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INFUSE program funds 10 private-public projects

As part of the Department of Energy Office of Science’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program, $2.3 million in funding is being awarded to 10 projects that pair private industry with national laboratories for purposes of fusion energy development. The projects are being led by researchers at seven companies: Commonwealth Fusion Systems in Cambridge, Mass.; Energy Driven Technologies in Champaign, Ill.; Focused Energy in Austin, Texas; General Atomics in San Diego, Calif.; Princeton Stellarators in Princeton, N.J.; Tokamak Energy in Bruceton Mills, W.Va.; and Type One Energy Group in Madison, Wis. Through the INFUSE funding, these companies gain access to the expertise of the national labs as they conduct research into fusion energy systems. Each award provides between $50,000 and $500,000 for a one- to two-year project, with a 20 percent cost share for the industry partners.

Holtec to provide spent fuel canisters to six Spanish reactors

September 21, 2022, 3:14PMRadwaste Solutions
Spain’s nuclear power plants are to use Holtec’s HI-STORM spent fuel storage technology. (Image: Holtec)

Holtec International announced that its flagship HI-STORM Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC) spent fuel storage technology was selected by Spain’s national company Enresa for a fleet of six nuclear power reactors at four plant sites in the country. Equipos Nucleares S.A. (ENSA), a Cantabria-based manufacturer of equipment for the Spanish nuclear fleet, was named a consortium partner with Holtec in the order, which was conducted under European Union procurement rules.

Subcontracts awarded in support of Savannah River’s liquid waste mission

August 31, 2022, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions

Department of Energy contractor Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) announced it has awarded four subcontracts worth a total of approximately $20 million to perform key engineering support for the liquid radioactive waste mission at the department’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. Among the awardees are locally owned businesses and a woman-owned small business.