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Updated: X-energy, Centrus Energy to develop fuel for advanced nuclear reactors

Posted at 10:03 am September 6, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Larry Cutlip, left, Centrus Energy vice president of field operations, and Pete Pappano, X Energy vice president of fuel production, announce a collaboration on fuel for advanced nuclear reactors at the Nuclear Suppliers Workshop at Pollard Technology Conference Center on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Larry Cutlip, left, Centrus Energy vice president of field operations, and Pete Pappano, X Energy vice president of fuel production, announce a collaboration on fuel for advanced nuclear reactors at the Nuclear Suppliers Workshop at Pollard Technology Conference Center on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

This story was last updated at 5:30 a.m. Sept. 7.

Two companies that have operations or employees in Oak Ridge are exploring a collaboration for the possible production of fuel for advanced nuclear reactors.

The two companies, X Energy LLC and Centrus Energy Corporation, announced Wednesday that they have signed a memorandum of understanding for the potential collaboration.

They are expected to put together a business plan for the fuel fabrication business. It’s not clear how long that might take, said Jeremy Derryberry, Centrus Energy senior communications manager.

But the companies are working toward the development of a fuel fabrication facility that could possibly be in Oak Ridge, where Centrus, formerly known as USEC, has had operations for about 15 years.

“We really think that Oak Ridge can be a nexus for the advanced reactor industry in the U.S. going forward,” Derryberry said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: advanced nuclear reactor, advanced reactor, American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center, Building K-1600, Centrus Energy Corporation, Clinch River Site, Daniel Poneman, East Tennessee Technology Park, fuel fabrication facility, Jeremy Derryberry, Kam Ghaffarian, Larry Cutlip, nuclear fuel, Nuclear Suppliers Workshop, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Pete Pappano, Pollard Technology Conference Center, small modular nuclear reactor, Tennessee Valley Authority, Thomas Zacharia, TRISO fuel, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UCO TRISO, uranium oxycarbide tristructural isotropic, USEC, UT-Battelle LLC, X Energy LLC, X-energy reactor

Centrus, ORNL agree on $25 million contract for work on gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology

Posted at 6:45 pm September 22, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

Six months after signing one contract, Centrus Energy Corporation and UT-Battelle LLC have agreed on a new contract for engineering and testing work on technology that uses gas centrifuges to enrich uranium.

Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants and in nuclear weapons, as fuel for nuclear naval vessels, and to ensure a tritium supply, which is needed to maintain the effectiveness of America’s nuclear deterrent, a press release said.

The new Centrus Energy-UT-Battelle contract is valued at about $25 million, and it runs through September 30, 2017. Under this new contract, Centrus scientists, engineers, and operators will “use the company’s unique facilities in Oak Ridge to develop and test technology improvements to reduce costs, improve manufacturability, and enhance the long-term reliability of U.S. uranium enrichment technology,” the press release said.

UT-Battelle operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The uranium enrichment technology is known as the American Centrifuge technology. It’s expected to support future national security and energy security needs, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Centrifuge, centrifuge technology, Centrus Energy, Centrus Energy Corporation, engineering, enrich uranium, gas centrifuge, gas centrifuges, Larry B. Cutlip, nuclear fuel, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, testing, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium enrichment, UT-Battelle, UT-Battelle LLC

DOE explores options for enriched uranium technology for national security

Posted at 5:17 am May 6, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

USEC, UT-Battelle to preserve centrifuge enrichment capabilities on interim basis

USEC and UT-Battelle have signed a $33.7 million, five-month contract to continue operating centrifuges and conducting research and development activities on a uranium enrichment project deemed important for national security and possible commercial use.

The agreement with UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was signed May 1. The five-month term ends Sept. 30. The new agreement includes options for two six-month extensions valued at about $41.7 million each. The total price of the contract with the options is roughly $117 million.

USEC, which is now an ORNL subcontractor, previously performed research, development, and demonstration work on the project, the American Centrifuge Project, under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy that had been in place since June 12, 2012. That cost-sharing agreement expired April 30. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: ACTDO Agreement, American Centrifuge Manufacturing LLC, American Centrifuge Project, American Centrifuge Technology Demonstration and Operations Agreement, Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group Inc., bankruptcy, centrifuges, DOE, enriched uranium, Ernest Mozin, Form 8-K, National Nuclear Security Administration, national security, nuclear fuel, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Piketon, research and development, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium enrichment, USEC, USEC Inc., UT-Battelle

USEC bankruptcy filing won’t affect daily operations in Oak Ridge, company says

Posted at 7:00 pm March 10, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Centrifuge Machine Manufacturing

In Oak Ridge, USEC workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing for the American Centrifuge Project. (Photos courtesy USEC)

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and financial restructuring plan that USEC Inc. announced last week will not affect daily operations in Oak Ridge or the American Centrifuge Project, a company spokesman said Monday.

The bankruptcy filing and financial plan are a restructuring of the balance sheet of the parent company, USEC Inc., spokesman Paul Jacobson said. He said the company is trying to strengthen its balance sheet and be a stronger sponsor of the American Centrifuge Project, a “next-generation” U.S. uranium enrichment technology. USEC Inc. is a global energy company that is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

The company currently has 304 people working on the centrifuge program in Tennessee. In Oak Ridge, workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing.

“This plan for restructuring our debt and equity will have no effect on our employees, who will continue to receive paychecks and benefits in the ordinary course,” Jacobson said. “As we have communicated to our employees previously, some employees will be impacted by several ongoing initiatives that are unrelated to the restructuring.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Centrifuge Project, B&W, Babcock and Wilcox Co., bankruptcy, centrifuge program, Chapter 11, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, financial restructuring, nuclear fuel, nuclear power, Oak Ridge, Ohio, Paducah, Paul Jacobson, restructuring, Securities and Exchange Commission, Toshiba Corp., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Department of Energy, United States Enrichment Corp., uranium enrichment, USEC Inc.

B&W seeks investors on program to build small nuclear reactors in Oak Ridge

Posted at 9:04 am November 14, 2013
By John Huotari 11 Comments

TVA Clinch River Site

The Babcock and Wilcox Co. has invested more than $360 million in a project that could result in a small nuclear reactor at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site in west Oak Ridge, pictured above. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

The Babcock and Wilcox Co. has already invested more than $360 million in a project that could result in a small nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge, and now the North Carolina company is looking for investors and possibly majority owners.

The mPower small modular reactor, or SMR, program is expected to have a nuclear power plant operating at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site by 2022. Initially, it could have two small reactors, a “twin pack,” and produce 360 megawatts.

On Wednesday, Marshall Cohen, B&W vice president for government affairs and communications, said the company is seeking major corporations who are interested in taking a “strong position,” up to and including ownership, including majority ownership.

“We would reduce our ownership to one that really matches the scope of work going forward,” Cohen said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: B&W, Babcock and Wilcox Co., Bechtel, Christofer Mowry, Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site, DOE, E. James Ferland, Generation mPower LLC, GmP, investors, JP Morgan, majority owners, Marshall Cohen, mPower, mPower small modular reactor, nuclear fuel, Oak Ridge, reactor module, small modular reactor, Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program, small nuclear reactor, SMR, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Department of Energy

UT receives DOE funds, ORNL help for spent nuclear fuel studies

Posted at 10:05 am September 26, 2013
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—The question of what to do with spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. has never been definitively answered. A University of Tennessee in Knoxville professor has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new capabilities for evaluating potential alternatives to directly disposing of used fuel.

The award is part of the DOE’s 2013 Nuclear Energy University Programs which is awarding $42 million to 38 American universities and colleges for nuclear energy research and development projects focused on developing innovative solutions.

A proposal by Steven Skutnik, assistant professor in nuclear engineering, was awarded $755,000 to develop new capabilities for a fuel cycle simulator called CYCLUS by building on an Oak Ridge National Laboratory software package for nuclear fuel modeling called ORIGEN. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: CYCLUS, flexible reactor analysis module, National Nuclear Laboratory, NEUP, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Energy University Programs, nuclear engineering, nuclear fuel, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORIGEN, ORNL, reactor, research and development, software, spent nuclear fuel, Steven Skutnik, University of Tennessee, used fuel, UT, waste, Yucca Mountain

More than 475 metric tons of Russian highly enriched uranium eliminated

Posted at 6:24 pm June 26, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Deliveries are 95 percent complete, represents 19,000 nuclear warheads converted to civilian use

WASHINGTON, D.C.–The National Nuclear Security Administration on Monday announced it has monitored the elimination of more than 475 metric tons of Russian highly enriched uranium, or HEU, under a landmark nuclear nonproliferation program, commonly known as Megatons to Megawatts.

The rough equivalent of 19,000 nuclear weapons has been permanently eliminated, the NNSA said in a press release. [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Top Stories Tagged With: Anne Harrington, HEU, HEU Program, HEU Transparency Program, HEU-LEU, highly enriched uranium, LEU, low enriched uranium, Megatons to Megawatts, metric tons, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, Nuclear Energy, nuclear fuel, nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear weapons, Philip G. Sewell, ROSATOM, Russia, Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation, Techsnabexport, TENEX, U.S. Department of Energy, United States, United States Enrichment Corporation, USEC

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Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

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