Nuclear manufacturer BWX Technologies has announced its plan to acquire Kinectrics Inc. for approximately $525 million. The deal is expected to close in mid-2025.
Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:
DOE signs up first foreign partner for ARPA-E project
The Department of Energy has selected Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre as the first-ever foreign partner to join an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) research project. The program is designed to accelerate the commercial development of fusion energy, with a focus on developing materials for the fusion reactor wall that can withstand extreme temperatures and radiation.
Another calendar year has passed. Before heading too far into 2025, let’s look back at what happened in 2024 in the nuclear community. In today's post, compiled from Nuclear News and Nuclear Newswire are what we feel are the top nuclear news stories from January through March 2024. Some images below are of the covers of Nuclear News for the months as noted.
Stay tuned for the top stories from the rest of the past year.
The uranium market closed out 2024 with a spot price of $72.63 per pound and a long-term price of $80.50 per pound, according to global uranium provider Cameco.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is hosting a hybrid public meeting with Holtec next week to discuss plans for needed repairs at Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant before bringing the unit back on line.
The Department of Energy has agreed to hold a 30-day review and comment period on a draft environmental analysis associated with a proposed plan for retrieving, grouting, and transporting some of Hanford’s low-activity tank waste for out-of-state disposal.
U.S. General Services Administration seeks protection from future energy price hikes
The U.S. General Services Administration has announced a historic long-term purchase of electricity, including carbon-free electricity, from Constellation New Energy Inc. to power 13 federal agencies. In combination with another GSA contract, Constellation secured more than $1 billion from the deal.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed for a second time the operating license for Unit 1 of Minnesota’s Monticello nuclear power plant.
The Nuclear Energy Institute has launched a new website that focuses on nuclear industry career awareness. NuclearWorks is designed “to allow students and potential job seekers the ability to identify career and/or education opportunities in the industry that align with their interests and skills/background,” according to Lori Brady, senior director of NEI’s Human Resources and Workforce Development.
The Department of Energy has offered up to $80 million of Inflation Reduction Act funding to back potential advancements in high-assay low-enriched uranium production. The new funding opportunity, announced in December, will prioritize technological advancement developing innovative technologies and approaches to strengthen the front-end of the HALEU supply chain. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on February 26, 2025.
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
No electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged in by the chimney with care
With the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
TerraPower announced this week that it has awarded the major manufacturing contracts for its Natrium plant reactor enclosure system.
These vendor awards help advance deployment and commercialization of what the company is calling “America’s first advanced reactor,” according to TerraPower’s press release. The news is also a major milestone in establishing the advanced nuclear supply chain, the company added.
DeWine
State legislation that designates nuclear power as “green energy” and expands oil/natural gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) leases on state land was forwarded this week to the desk of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. The Republican governor has 10 days after receiving House Bill 308 to either sign it into law or veto it. A “green” designation would imply state recognition that nuclear energy causes no harm to the natural environment.
Pro arguments: In its coverage of the bill, Spectrum News quoted Greg Lawson, a research fellow at the Buckeye Institute, as defending nuclear energy. “Nuclear energy is zero carbon emission, and from that standpoint, it certainly addresses a lot of the concerns that folks have when they’re concerned about what happens to the climate. . . . Right now, Ohio is facing a real challenge. We’ve got a lot of data centers coming into Ohio. This is a massive issue. These things consume just incredible amounts of electricity,” Lawson said.
David Wright
There is a modern-day parable that NRC commissioner David Wright likes to reflect on from time to time, the story of a janitor on a mission. On a visit to NASA in the 1960s, or so the story goes, amid all the action and excitement and VIPs, President Kennedy stopped a janitor who was pushing his broom down the hallway. Kennedy asked the man what he was doing and he said, “Well, I’m putting a man on the moon.”
Wright believes people—all the people—are how jobs get done. And the people of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have a very big job ahead of them. Whether it is meeting the requirements of the ADVANCE Act, bringing 10 CFR Part 53 closer to the finish line, or working with its counterparts in other countries toward climate goals and international agreements, the NRC is moving mountains, one sweep of the broom at a time.
Constellation is launching a pilot program that allows its Washington, D.C., customers to purchase 100 percent nuclear energy for their homes.
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s strategy for managing nuclear waste from nuclear weapons maintenance and modernization activities is not comprehensive and does not fully address all statutory requirements, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has announced that it plans to build a fusion power plant, named ARC, at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County, Va.—and that it expects to be the first company to make fusion power available at grid scale.
It's been another successful publishing year for the American Nuclear Society's Nuclear News, Radwaste Solutions, the online Nuclear Newswire, and the NN Daily newsletter.
For Nuclear News, below are the publishing themes for 2025.
If you have story ideas for any of these themes or for Radwaste Solutions, please contact Nucnews@ans.org.
BWXT Canada, a subsidiary of BWX Technologies, is partnering with Westinghouse Electric Company to build new nuclear projects in Canada and globally.