Register
Search
Close this search box.

DOE Announces $2.7 Billion Boost to US Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain

  • Time Stamp: June 30, 2024
  • Source Node: 2959348
Picture of Republished by Plato

Republished by Plato

  • DOE Announces $2.7 Billion Boost to Domestic Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain
  • Diablo Canyon Wins $400 Million Loan
  • BWXT Awarded Phase Two of Microreactor Evaluation Contract for State of Wyoming
  • ARC-100 CEO and Some Staff Out as Firm Misses Key Milestones
  • Terrestrial Energy Receives Gain Award From INL
  • Fusion Energy Bill Passes Congress, Heads to President’s Desk
  • FIA Launches Commercializing Fusion Energy Paper
  • IAEA DG Grossi to World Bank: Global Consensus Calls for Nuclear Expansion, This Needs Financial Support

DOE Announces $2.7 Billion Boost Domestic Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to purchase low-enriched uranium (LEU) from domestic sources. The action will help spur the safe and responsible build-out of uranium enrichment capacity in the United States, promote diversity in the market, and provide a reliable supply of commercial nuclear fuel to support the energy security and resilience of the American people and domestic industries, free from Russian influence.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said this RFP is supported by $2.7 billion from the President’s Investing in America agenda.

“DOE is helping jumpstart uranium enrichment capacity here in the United States, which is critical to strengthening our national security and growing our domestic nuclear industry.”

“Strengthening our domestic nuclear fuel supply chain will be critical as we continue to move from an energy system reliant on foreign suppliers and fossil fuels to one that embraces cleaner sources of power and domestic manufacturing,” said Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.

Through this RFP, DOE will acquire LEU generated by new sources of domestic uranium enrichment capacity. These can include new enrichment facilities or projects that expand the capacity of existing enrichment facilities. DOE intends to sell the LEU to utilities operating U.S. reactors to support clean energy generation and sever reliance on Russian imports.

DOE plans to award two or more contracts, which will last for up to 10 years. Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. EDT on August 26, 2024.

Learn more about DOE’s efforts to develop nuclear fuel supply chains for existing and future reactors here and how DOE’s Pathways to Advanced Nuclear Commercial Liftoff report supports the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies that will help the U.S. nuclear sector reach our nation’s ambitious goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

& & &

Diablo Canyon Wins $400 Million Loan For Nuclear Power Station

(NucNet) Lawmakers in California have approved a $400 million loan to keep the two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear power station operating until 2030 after initially expressing concerns over the cost to the taxpayer.

There had been criticism and concern surrounding the loan, with some arguing that taxpayers will end up footing the bill for Diablo Canyon operator Pacific Gas & Electric and that the loan will never be paid back to the general fund, putting the burden on taxpayers.

Local press reports said the approval of the loan and the decision to keep the plant open has caused friction between governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers, with environmental and anti-nuclear advocates warning of a growing price tag to keep the plant open and ongoing legal challenges related to the environmental impacts of extending the plant’s life.

Newsom argued that Diablo Canyon is critical for maintaining grid stability during the state’s transition to clean energy, while legislative leaders questioned the necessity and cost-effectiveness of keeping the facility open.

Diablo Canyon, California’s last commercial nuclear power station, contributes roughly 9% of the state’s energy and was initially set to close in 2025 before Newsom passed a bill to extend its life to 2030.

PG$E, meanwhile, has filed a license renewal application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that could eventually see Diablo Canyon’s operational lifetime extended by up to 20 years to the mid-2040s. The current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2, both Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, were set to expire in 2024 and 2025.

In 2022 the Biden administration awarded up to $1.1 billion in credit payments for the continued operation of Diablo Canyon, saying nuclear power is critical in curbing climate change and it wants to keep plants open ahead of the development of next-generation reactors. Biden wants to decarbonize the power grid by 2035.

The credits are to be paid in installments until 2026, with the amount of the annual payment to be adjusted based on factors including actual costs incurred to extend the operation of Diablo Canyon.

PG&E has been quoted in press reports as saying the federal credits will help the company pay back the state loan.

& & &

BWXT Awarded Phase Two of Microreactor Evaluation Contract for State of Wyoming

BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced the award of the second phase of a contract with the Wyoming Energy Authority to assess the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors in the state as a source of resilient and reliable energy to augment existing power generation resources. The award follows an initial commitment made in September 2023.

Under phase one of the program, BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC (BWXT) worked with the Wyoming Energy Authority to define the requirements for nuclear applications of base heat and power needs for remote, off-grid applications within the state. BWXT also performed microreactor system engineering work that could support Wyoming’s future power needs and identified areas where Wyoming’s existing supply chain could demonstrate capabilities for reactor component manufacturing and support reactor deployment.

Phase two of the contract includes completing conceptual design of a lead microreactor unit, developing a regulatory engagement plan and microreactor fleet model, and demonstrating the Wyoming supply chain’s ability to manufacture nuclear components.

In support of this program, BWXT is leveraging existing U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) achievements through the company’s collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and other internal BWXT research and development investments.

Through the ARDP, BWXT and DOE have been developing the BANR microreactor since 2021, and this effort in Wyoming represents an acceleration of BWXT’s commercial nuclear development efforts. INL has been providing strategic and technical support to the State of Wyoming under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2022.  (BWXT briefing on the BANR microreactor – PDF file)

The total value of the cost-share program is approximately $20 million, and phase two of the program is expected to be complete by the third quarter of 2025.

& & &

ARC-100 CEO and Some Staff Out as Firm Misses Key Milestones

The Toronto Globe & Mail and the CBC wire service report a major shakeup at ARC100 in New Brunswick Province. The CEO and some staff left the company earlier this week with no prior warning. The company said in a brief media statement that it is “restructuring” and that COO Bob Braun will lead the firm for the time being. It did not list other members of the senior leadership team who remain.

The advanced reactor project reportedly missed key development milestones which indicate it will not be ready with an operating reactor for its customer by 2030. Cited problems include getting components from the supply chain and sourcing HALEU fuel.

Last year CEO Bill Labbe told a legislative committee that ARC’s 100-megawatt small modular nuclear reactor would be ready by 2030. However, according to news media reports, at New Brunswick Province Energy and Utility Board hearings last week,  New Brunswick Power vice-president of business development and strategic partnerships, Brad Coady, said the SMR “probably won’t be ready by 2030.”

Outside experts, including Norm Sawyer, a former CEO of ARC100, are urging project sponsors to look for another SMR developer for the site. According to the CBC report, the head of the New Brunswick Provincial Government said he was surprised by the sudden developments with the firm.

Profile of the ARC-100 Project

The ARC 100 is a small modular reactor (SMR) design based on the design of and fuel used by the Integral Fast Reactor deployed at Argonne West Idaho site in the 1990s.  (Technical summary – PDF file)

The ARC-100 reactor has been selected by NB Power, the primary electric utility in the Canadian province of New Brunswick for deployment at their Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. Canada’s Belledune Port Authority also shortlisted ARC-100 to generate firm heat and power for industrial users at the port’s announced Green Energy Hub.

  • Funding History – Between 2018 and 2023, ARC Clean Technology was granted about $60 million in public funding from the UK’s Advanced Modular Reactor competition (2018), Japan’s Nuclear Energy X Innovative Promotion program (2021), the US Advanced Reactor Concepts program (2020), Natural Resources Canada through the Clean Electricity Predevelopment Program (2023) as well as the Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative and the Province of New Brunswick (2018 and 2021). ARC Clean Technology also announced the closing of its Series A funding round with CAD 30 million (US$23 million) from combined private and New Brunswick public funding (2022).In 2023, the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council (NSMTC) and its member communities made an equity investment of CAD 1 million (US$768 000) in ARC Clean Technology.Just two months ago South Korea’s KHNP signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with ARC100 to further develop the reactor’s sodium cooled design.
  • Supply Chain – ARC Clean Technology has been collaborating with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) since 2017 under an agreement that includes in-kind contributions from GEH to provide engineering and design expertise. It also has commercial agreements with engineering companies including Hatch and AECOM. In the Canadian 2022 Provincial Strategic Plan for the Deployment of Small Modular Reactors, the Government of New Brunswick set out its objective to advance supply chain readiness for SMRs, including ARC-100, in collaboration with Canadian Manufactures and Exporters and Opportunities New Brunswick. ARC Clean Technology has also hosted and participated in multiple supply chain events.
  • Fuel – HALEU is a technically proven fuel type; however, up to and including 2023 there was no commercial supply from OECD countries. Some limited commercial supply is expected to begin in 2024.ARC Clean Technology signed a letter of intent with Centrus for HALEU supply and is partnering with Canadian Nuclear Laboratory to develop a fuel manufacturing process. ARC Clean Technology has also been awarded a voucher under the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative by the US DOE to support qualification of ARC’s fuel in collaboration with the US Argonne and Idaho National Laboratories.
Data on ARC-100 from “The NEA Small Modular Reactor Dashboard: Second Edition,” OECD/NEA 2024, pgs 68-69

& & &

Terrestrial Energy Receives Gain Award From INL

  • Terrestrial Energy will partner on research with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

(NucNet) Terrestrial Energy, which just recently moved from it office in Canada to Charlotte, NC, has received an award from the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (Gain) to accelerate the development of the nuclear systems at the heart of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) plant.

The company said the award supports Terrestrial Energy’s partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to conduct thermophysical analyses of the IMSR fuel salt under a range of reactor operating conditions.

Terrestrial Energy has designed the IMSR to avoid use of high assay low-enriched uranium  (HALEU) fuel, which is required for many next-generation reactors in development. The US has little domestic (HALEU) production capacity and depends on commercial supply from Russia.

The IMSR uses low-enriched uranium at enrichment levels under 5%, which is today’s standard fuel produced by nuclear fuel suppliers.

“This is an important IMSR design characteristic that strongly facilitates near-term fleet deployment of IMSR plants,” Terrestrial Energy said.

In December, Terrestrial Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to evaluate the latest advancements in nuclear energy technologies. The two companies will focus on the potential of the IMSR) plant for electricity generation and large-scale industrial heat applications.Terrestrial Energy has also signed a manufacturing and supply contract with Springfields Fuels, a subsidiary of Westinghouse, for the design and construction of an IMSR fuel pilot plant.

Gain awards provide companies access to extensive nuclear research capabilities and expertise available across the US Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory complex.

& & &

Fusion Energy Bill Passes Congress, Heads to President’s Desk

This week, the U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to accelerate the development of commercial fusion energy. The legislation, which previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives, now heads to President Biden to be signed into law.

The Fusion Energy Act, which was incorporated into the Fire Grants and Safety Act, will codify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) regulatory authority over commercial fusion energy systems to streamline the creation of clear federal regulations to support the development of commercial production facilities.

Fusion energy has the potential to produce abundant clean electricity without harmful side effects like carbon emissions or long-lived radioactive waste.

In a related development on April 14, 2023, NRC Commissioners voted to separate the regulatory frameworks of fusion and fission energy and create a unique regulatory framework for fusion energy.

The Fusion Energy Act would ensure the development of a tailored NRC regulatory framework geared toward supporting the growth of the emerging commercial fusion energy sector.  The legislation also requires the NRC to study and report to Congress within one year regarding licensing commercial fusion machines, including streamlining its regulations.

& & &

FIA Launches Commercializing Fusion Energy Paper

The Fusion Industry Association launched a new Commercializing Fusion Energy paper, laying out the policy incentives that will attract and accelerate the fusion industry in nations that aim to lead in commercial deployment. This paper is intended to be used as a tool by policymakers when considering the most effective policy positions to implement. The full paper is available for download

Commercial fusion power will unlock unparalleled benefits across an array of areas – economic, energy independence, national security, climate, and energy accessibility. Nations that enact policy aligned with industry will be the first to benefit. With good policy, governments can accelerate the timeline that the unrivaled promise of fusion — energy that is clean, abundant, efficient, and secure — is brought to their marketplace.

Commercializing Fusion Energy charts three primary courses of action: harness public-private partnerships; ensure predictable regulatory regimes; and level the playing field.

  • Harness public-private partnerships

When faced with a challenge that requires long-term deployment of capital and political stability, a public-private partnership (PPP) structured properly can be among the most powerful tools in modern society. National flexibility of PPP concepts ensures that such an agreement could be custom-built to meet the mission needs of fusion, harnessing the decades of fusion research experience in government programs and combining that expertise with the ambitions and nimbleness of the private sector.

The over $6.2b invested in private fusion companies worldwide is a clear demonstrated interest of investment firms in fusion technologies. Generating robust PPPs focused on deploying fusion power and bolstering supply chains, backed with government support in multiple forms, would give investors and suppliers the confidence needed to back fusion firms at a higher level, and allow fusion firms to accelerate their timelines.

  • Ensure predictable regulatory regimes

Regulatory certainty is a necessary condition for commercialization of fusion power. For investors and companies to deploy capital and commit to commercialization timelines, they need confidence in the regulatory frameworks established by government. This is critical for the siting and construction of pilot projects and commercial-scale facilities in any sector, not just fusion.

Fusion needs specific, clear regulations that are entirely separate from nuclear fission. The two processes are fundamentally different, with vastly different risks, hazards, and safety profiles. In order to deploy and scale, fusion needs regulatory treatment that is right-sized to the technology, and not tied to legacy fission regulations as a default.

  • Level the playing field

Governments understand the importance of clean energy, and have showered these industries with subsidies and other incentives. It is imperative that fusion energy technologies receive fair treatment alongside other clean energy sources. With shared goals of bolstering energy security, combating climate change, and advancing human health, fusion has the potential to make an important impression, but it needs the same subsidies to compete.

Enacting policy well-aligned with the quickly growing fusion industry is paramount for countries hoping to position themselves as sites for early deployers and adopters. The global stage for fusion will be set by those that effectively align public and private sectors, solidify appropriate regulatory frameworks, and include fusion on a level clean energy playing field.

& & &

IAEA DG Grossi to World Bank: Global Consensus Calls for Nuclear Expansion, This Needs Financial Support

To achieve sustainable development and prosperity, the world needs an abundance of clean, reliable and sustainable energy. Now, for the first time in history, a new consensus is urging the accelerated deployment of nuclear energy, along with other low emission technologies, to achieve deep and rapid decarbonization.

Speaking in an exchange with members of the World Bank Group Executive Board in Washington, IAEA Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, shared the IAEA’s perspective on nuclear energy and said the IAEA stands ready, upon request, to provide technical support to multilateral development banks (MDBs), particularly on nuclear infrastructure development including nuclear safety, security and safeguards.

“From Africa to Asia, countries seeking to add nuclear to their energy mix need technical and financial support. With its technical expertise, the IAEA accompanies them throughout their nuclear journeys, helping them to establish the infrastructure for a safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power program. But financing remains a hurdle. While the private sector will need to increasingly contribute to financing, multilateral development banks such as the World Bank can advance sustainable development by assessing nuclear project bankability and contributing lending at affordable rates.”

The World Bank and other MDBs currently do not contribute financing to nuclear power new build projects, although some MDBs have provided lending for upgrades to existing nuclear power reactors or their decommissioning.

Mr Grossi said that financing nuclear power would better align MDBs with the “new global consensus” forged at last year at COP28 in Dubai, where the world called for accelerating the deployment of nuclear power along with other zero emission energy technologies to achieve deep and rapid decarbonization.

Dozens of countries have also signed on to a pledge made at COP28 to work towards tripling global nuclear power capacity to achieve net zero by 2050. The pledge also called on the World Bank, regional development banks and international financial institutions to include nuclear in their lending. That call was echoed by scores of countries at the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit organized by the IAEA and Government of Belgium in March.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says nuclear power global capacity, which provides a quarter of the world’s low carbon electricity, must at least double by mid-century to meet climate goals, in line with the IAEA’s 2023 high case nuclear projections. Doubling nuclear capacity by 2050 will require a more than doubling of investments in nuclear power to 100 billion USD annually, the IAEA estimates.

Around 30 so-called newcomer countries are either considering or already embarking on nuclear power to accelerate their development and reduce emissions. In nuclear energy, they see a technology that can provide the backbone of a modern energy system with 24/7 electricity as well applications such as industrial heat needed to cleanly power a modern economy, including by enabling greater deployment of variable solar and wind.

Around two-thirds of the nuclear newcomers are in the developing world, and according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), nuclear power will need to significantly expand in such countries if the world is to have a reasonable chance at meeting climate goals under the Paris Agreement.

But financing such projects there remains a major hurdle. While some newcomers such as Bangladesh and Egypt are already building their first nuclear power plants with the help of government-backed nuclear reactor vendor financing, other countries may need to pursue different financing options. Several newcomers are interested in emerging technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs).

# # #

Facebook Twitter Telegram-plane Linkedin-in Github Discord
Copyright @ 2024 Plato Technologies Inc.