News

DOE Releases RFI for Nationwide Low-Level and Mixed Low-Level Waste Treatment Services Procurement

DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought for the Nationwide Low-Level and Mixed Low-Level Waste Treatment Services. The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is currently in the acquisition planning phase for the potential award for the continuation of Nationwide Waste Treatment Services. The services to be acquired will be performed at various sites nationwide.
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EM Addresses Risks at ORNL Facilities, Prepares for Next Cleanup Phase

EM workers have successfully moved two former nuclear facilities at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to the “cold and dark” stage in the deactivation process. The work marks the beginning of Oak Ridge’s next major cleanup phase at ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex as crews near completion of major cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park next year. Deactivating Buildings 3010 and 3026 paves the way for future demolition, removing a significant risk from the heart of ORNL while opening land for future research and science missions.
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BWX Technologies Developing Microreactors With Military Customers In Mind

BWX Technologies is developing tractor trailer-sized micro nuclear reactors that could illuminate a small U.S. city, run a forward operating military base, power directed energy weapons or fuel deep-space missions. BWX Technologies – the prime contractor building the reactors on the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers – has for years devoted a portion of its earnings to fund microreactor research and development funding, Rex Geveden, chief executive of BWX, said during a Tuesday morning conference call with analysts. Fiscal Year 2020 could be the year micro nuclear reactors move from proposal to reality.
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ORNL to Take on Nine Power Grid Modernization Projects as Part of DOE Award

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers will lead two new projects and support seven more to enhance the reliability and resilience of the nation’s power grid as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2019 Grid Modernization Lab Call. DOE announced funding of approximately $80 million over three years to fund 23 projects across the country. ORNL is expected to receive approximately $10 million of available funding to support the nine projects on which it collaborates.
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LaunchTN Release Annual Report

Click here to view LaunchTN's newly released annual report.
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Member Spotlight: Sometimes a Loss can be a Victory

It was during her run for a seat on the Knox County Commission in 2008 that Cortney Piper realized she might be cut out to run her own business. “That’s when the entrepreneurial bug sort of bit me,” says Piper, 39, whose company provides public relations and strategic communications consulting with a focus on clean energy and technology. “I was running my own campaign and creating something myself and I really, really enjoyed that process. I enjoyed meeting people and talking to them and trying to tailor a platform that I thought was going to respond to my constituents’ needs.”
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Global Nuclear Fuel and X-energy to Collaborate on Triso Fuel

US-based Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) and X-energy have announced a collaboration to produce low-cost, high-quality TRi-structural ISOtropic (Triso) particle nuclear fuel. The companies signed a teaming agreement for the purpose of developing High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Triso fuel to potentially supply the US Department of Defense for microreactors and NASA for its nuclear thermal propulsion requirements.
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Booz Allen to Provide Cyber Services to DOE

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) a $116 million contract over 7 years to provide advanced cyber analysis and security services. DOE is responsible for the protection of vital national security information and technologies, representing intellectual property of incalculable value throughout nearly thirty sites and laboratories nationwide.
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Environmental Advisory Board Seeks New Members

Members are being sought for an advisory board that learns about U.S. Department of Energy cleanup projects in Oak Ridge and, when appropriate, provides recommendations. The citizens advisory board is the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. It provides recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. No technical expertise is required to serve on the board. Terms are for two years, and members may serve up to three terms, for a total of six years on the board.
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Contract Finalized for American Centrifuge Project

Plans announced 10 months ago regarding the potential for a rebirth of sorts for the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon were formalized this week. Centrus Energy announced Wednesday that it has signed a three-year contract with the U.S. Department of Energy that will result in deployment of a cascade of centrifuge machines to demonstrate production of high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuel for advanced nuclear reactors, including those used in the country's nuclear naval fleet.
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