Judge temporarily blocks DOE’s move to slash university research funding

April 17, 2025, 3:26PMNuclear News

A group of universities led by the American Association of Universities (AAU) acted swiftly to oppose a policy action by the Department of Energy that would cut the funds it pays to universities for the indirect costs of research under DOE grants. The group filed suit Monday, April 14, challenging a what it termed a “flagrantly unlawful action” that could “devastate scientific research at America’s universities.”

By Wednesday, the U.S. District Court judge hearing the case issued a temporary restraining order effective nationwide, preventing the DOE from implementing the policy or terminating any existing grants.

DOE report: Cost to finish cleaning up Hanford site could exceed $589 billion

April 17, 2025, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
Hanford crews break up concrete and remove contaminated soil near the site’s former K Area reactors in 2023. (Photo: DOE)

The cost to complete the cleanup of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state could cost as much as $589.4 billion, according to the 2025 Hanford Lifecycle Scope, Schedule, and Cost Report, which was released by the DOE on April 15. While that estimate is $44.2 billion lower than the DOE’s 2022 estimate of $640.6 billion, a separate, low-end estimate has since grown by more than 21 percent, to $364 billion.

The life cycle report, which the DOE is legally required to issue every three years under agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), summarizes the remaining work scope, schedule, and cost estimates for the nuclear site. For more than 40 years, Hanford’s reactors produced plutonium for America’s defense program.

Ghana takes another step in nuclear partnership with U.S., China

April 17, 2025, 7:12AMNuclear News

Leaders in Ghana announced recently that the country has a “framework agreement” with U.S.-based companies NuScale and Regnum Technology Group.

The announcement made by Stephen Yamoah, executive director of Nuclear Power Ghana, was reported by the Ghana News Agency on March 31. He also said Japanese firms will be working in partnership with NuScale and Regnum on the small modular reactors while the China National Nuclear Corporation will construct a large reactor.

Trump’s pick for NNSA administrator testifies before Senate committee

April 10, 2025, 3:00PMNuclear News

Brandon Williams appeared before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Armed Services this week to answer questions on how he would lead the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, if confirmed for the job.

President Donald Trump announced Williams as his pick for the NNSA role in January. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he was personally involved in the selection of Williams for the role, telling the Exchange Monitor in January, “He’s a smart, passionate guy [who] wants to defend our country.”

DOE commits to supplying HALEU to five advanced nuclear companies

April 10, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News

The Department of Energy has announced its first round of conditional commitments to provide high-assay low-enriched uranium to five U.S. nuclear developers. According to the DOE, the delivery of HALEU will support the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies, aiming to deliver secure, affordable, and reliable energy to Americans.

Savannah River removes legacy Y-12 uranium from HB Line

April 9, 2025, 9:34AMRadwaste Solutions
The Savannah River Site’s HB Line facility is located on top of the H Canyon chemical separations facility. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy has announced that workers at its Savannah River Site in South Carolina recently removed legacy uranium materials from the site’s HB Line as part of an effort to clear the facility of its inventory of legacy nuclear materials. The removed legacy uranium was originally produced by the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn.

X-energy, Dow apply to build an advanced reactor project in Texas

March 31, 2025, 3:06PMNuclear News
Xe-100 Dow Seadrift concept art. (Image: X-energy)

Dow and X-energy announced today that they have submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas. The project could begin construction later this decade, but only if Dow confirms “the ability to deliver the project while achieving its financial return targets.”

Will policies outlined in Project 2025 affect nuclear much?

March 31, 2025, 9:31AMNuclear NewsJames Conca

James Conca

I think so. The near future for nuclear depends on both the cabinet picks for Energy, Defense, Interior, and Commerce, and how well the new secretaries stick to the Project 2025 plan, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative blueprint for the future.

Those who want to read the entire 900-­page Mandate for Leadership can find it easily online. The section relating to nuclear power and waste begins on page 363: “Department of Energy and Related Commissions,” by Bernard L. McNamee. The nuclear weapons–related portions are scattered throughout.

It is obvious from the beginning of the chapter that McNamee doesn’t really understand the Department of Energy. He can be forgiven, since most people don’t. For the several months following their appointments, new energy secretaries generally fail to understand what the DOE does—except for real nuclear folks like Ernest Moniz, who held the position from 2013 to 2017. Most think that the DOE is all about energy, when really it is mostly about weapons and waste.

SRNL patents structure for better nuclear materials packaging

March 31, 2025, 7:03AMNuclear News
Illustration showing how radially oriented honeycomb structures can be used within a container to provide strength, sound insulation, or thermal insulation. The structure includes multiple radially aligned layers of a shaped strip. (Image: SRNL)

Savannah River National Laboratory said it has received a patent for its radially oriented honeycomb structures. The technology offers a solution to the deformation of cylindrical honeycomb structures when they are formed from flat panels, providing a way to create structures with greater wall thickness than traditional methods.

Tennessee senators call on Trump to “rescue TVA from itself”

March 28, 2025, 12:00PMNuclear News

Hagerty

Blackburn

In a strongly worded opinion piece published by Power Magazine on March 24, Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty call for new leadership at the Tennessee Valley Authority to jumpstart its small modular reactor program.

The GOP lawmakers are looking to President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright to overhaul TVA’s board of directors to drive America’s role in the nuclear renaissance. TVA is the first and only U.S. energy company to obtain an early site permit for a small modular reactor, but the utility has not progressed on physical deployment of a unit since the permit was awarded in 2019.

$900M offer for SMR funding opens again—realigned to energy dominance agenda

March 26, 2025, 3:03PMNuclear News

The Department of Energy reissued a $900 million solicitation on March 24 designed to de-risk the deployment of “Gen-III+” light water small modular reactors. The same funding was previously offered in October 2024, with applications due January 17. Now, potential applicants have until April 23 to apply for a grant under a solicitation modified to “better align with President Trump's bold agenda to unleash American energy and AI dominance.”

NWTRB asks DOE, Congress to take action on geologic repository

March 26, 2025, 7:35AMRadwaste Solutions
Image: NWTRB

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has recommended to the Department of Energy and Congress that they work together “to create a workable pathway to site, license, construct, and operate a geologic repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.”

Crash Course: The DOE’s Package Performance Demonstration

March 7, 2025, 3:01PMRadwaste Solutions
The DOE designed the Atlas railcar to eventually ship spent nuclear fuel to consolidated storage. Before it begins shipping fuel, the department wants to demonstrate the safety of transportation casks through its Package Performance Demonstration project. (Photo: DOE)

Inspired by a history of similar testing endeavors and recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, the Department of Energy is planning to conduct physical demonstrations on rail-sized spent nuclear fuel transportation casks. As part of the project, called the Spent Nuclear Fuel Package Performance Demonstration (PPD), the DOE is considering a number of demonstrations based on regulatory tests and realistic transportation scenarios, including collisions, drops, exposure to fire, and immersion in water.

ARG-US Remote Monitoring Systems: Use Cases and Applications in Nuclear Facilities and During Transportation

February 28, 2025, 3:04PMRadwaste SolutionsYung Liu and Kevin A. Brown

As highlighted in the Spring 2024 issue of Radwaste Solutions, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are developing and deploying ARG-US—meaning “Watchful Guardian”—remote monitoring systems technologies to enhance the safety, security, and safeguards (3S) of packages of nuclear and other radioactive material during storage, transportation, and disposal.

Nuclear connections

February 13, 2025, 12:01PMNuclear NewsLisa Marshall

Lisa Marshall
president@ans.org

As I watched the coverage of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s earthly farewell, I reflected on being too young to remember his presidency yet being impacted many years later. A man of service, Carter had a connection to the nuclear field, and his experiences shaped his decisions and our enterprise.

Carter was admitted into the U.S. Naval Academy in 1943 and successfully graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. He was chosen by Admiral Rickover, after the legendary two-hour rite of passage interview, to be a naval submariner.

In December 1952, an experimental nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, experienced mechanical problems compounded by operator error that damaged the reactor core. Carter was part of the team that helped in the cleanup and repair operation.

Garrish up for repeat term as DOE’s nuclear energy secretary

February 12, 2025, 3:04PMNuclear News

Garrish

Theodore “Ted” Garrish—who has spent more than four decades working in nuclear—is President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for nuclear energy, or, NE-1.

The nomination was referred to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on February 3. Garrish previously held the office from 1987 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan. Most recently, Kathryn Huff held the NE-1 post, and Michael Goff has served as interim assistant secretary since Huff stepped down in May 2024.

Garrish’s most recent term in public office was as assistant secretary for the Office of International Affairs at the Energy Department, from 2018 to 2021, during Trump’s first term. Supporters say Garrish’s 40-plus years working in the nuclear industry and in nuclear energy oversight positions makes him more than qualified to serve in the DOE office again.