Latest news with #nuclearfuel
National Post
22-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
BWXT Fires Up Furnace for Advanced Nuclear Fuel
Article content LYNCHBURG, Va. — BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced today that it reached a key milestone in its capability to manufacture an advanced form of TRISO nuclear fuel, representing the next generation of fuel for advanced reactors. TRISO fuel comprises carbon and silicon layers surrounding a uranium fuel kernel. Article content 'We're proud to be working with DOE to diversify and optimize our TRISO fuel manufacturing capabilities,' said Kate Kelly, president of BWXT Advanced Technologies. Article content The company's Advanced Technologies subsidiary recently completed the installation and testing of a chemical vapor infiltration furnace which solidifies the pre-forms that are filled with TRISO particles. The CVI furnace completes the equipment necessary to execute BWXT's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) project with the Department of Energy. Article content With the existing TRISO manufacturing line, a previously commissioned binder jet for additive manufacturing and a computed tomography scanner for non-destructive testing, BWXT can now load Uranium Nitride TRISO into additively manufactured fuel forms. The result is a nuclear fuel product comprising a higher mass of uranium per unit volume than traditional TRISO compacts. The new fuel is designed to be more cost-effective with a longer reactor lifespan, potentially reducing overall reactor system costs. Article content 'Our advanced capability to manufacture TRISO fuel in multiple forms and shapes at scale will play an important role in enabling the small modular reactor and advanced microreactor market to flourish,' said Kate Kelly, president of BWXT Advanced Technologies. 'We're proud to be working with DOE to diversify and optimize our TRISO fuel manufacturing capabilities as part of our ARDP scope and, more broadly, ensure the success of America's growing advanced nuclear industry.' Article content 'DOE's support of BWXT's microreactor design and TRISO fuel manufacturing capabilities is a great example of how we are working hand-in-hand with industry to re-establish the United States as a global leader in nuclear energy,' said acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Mike Goff. 'I'm excited to see this work progress and look forward to BWXT's future accomplishments.' Article content BWXT's established TRISO manufacturing line currently produces Uranium Oxy Carbide (UCO) TRISO for Project Pele, the Department of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office demonstration microreactor program, as well as UN TRISO for the ARDP scope. BWXT is planning to ramp up TRISO manufacturing to support the BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR) program and meet the market demand of other TRISO users. The existing fuel manufacturing line, combined with these new capabilities, allows BWXT to manufacture diverse forms of TRISO particles (UN or UCO with varying layer thickness), traditional compacts, or chemically densified complex geometries filled with TRISO particles and the resulting digital twins to support fuel qualification efforts. Article content In December 2020, BWXT was awarded an 80/20 cost share for BANR under an ARDP subprogram intended to address technical, operational, and regulatory challenges to enable advanced nuclear reactor designs. Article content About TRISO Article content The DOE describes TRISO fuel as 'the most robust nuclear fuel on Earth' given its ability to withstand high temperatures, resist corrosion and act as its own containment system. In 2003, BWXT began working on TRISO in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory as part of the Advanced Gas Reactor Program. Article content Last year, BWXT announced a partnership with the state of Wyoming to evaluate the industrial footprint required to manufacture TRISO fuel in support of the emerging advanced reactor market. This effort will help unlock key business factors necessary to establish a realistic baseline for fuel production facilities needed to meet anticipated demand for this specialized nuclear fuel. It also establishes the scale necessary for economic viability. Article content Forward-Looking Statements Article content BWXT cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation statements relating to the performance, design, suitability and impact of advanced reactor technology and TRISO nuclear fuel production. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, the timing of technology development; our ability to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, licenses and permits in a timely manner; the ability to commercialize this technology; competition in an environment of rapid technological changes; and the enforcement and protection of our intellectual property rights. If one or more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see BWXT's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BWXT cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law. Article content About BWXT Article content At BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), we are People Strong, Innovation Driven. A U.S.-based company, BWXT is a Fortune 1000 and Defense News Top 100 manufacturing and engineering innovator that provides safe and effective nuclear solutions for global security, clean energy, environmental restoration, nuclear medicine and space exploration. With nearly 10,000 employees, BWXT and its affiliated companies have 20 major operating sites in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. BWXT and its industry partners support the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration across more than a dozen major contracts in North America. For more information, visit Article content , Article content , Article content Facebook Article content and Article content Instagram Article content . Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contact Article content Article content John Dobken Article content Article content Senior Manager, Media & Public Relations Article content Article content 202.428.6913 Article content jcdobken@ Article content Investor Contact Article content Article content Chase Jacobson Article content Article content Article content Article content
Japan Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Tepco plans to move spent nuclear fuel from Fukushima to Mutsu facility
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) suggested Monday that it plans to transfer spent nuclear fuel from its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to an interim storage facility in the city of Mutsu in Aomori Prefecture. The plan was included in a medium- to long-term program for the facility, presented to Aomori Gov. Soichiro Miyashita by Tepco President Tomoaki Kobayakawa at a meeting in the Aomori Prefectural Government office the same day. Spent nuclear fuel stored at the plant's No. 5 and No. 6 reactors, a joint storage pool and the Fukushima No. 2 plant at the time of the March 2011 nuclear meltdown at the No. 1 plant is set to be transferred to the Mutsu facility. "As a result of the inspections and technical assessments conducted after the accident, it is technically feasible to carry out the intermediate storage and reprocessing" of the spent nuclear fuel, Kobayakawa said at the meeting, seeking Miyashita's understanding. The governor told reporters after the meeting that the plan should be "on the premise that safety is confirmed in a thorough screening by the Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority." Mutsu Mayor Tomoya Yamamoto said that he is opposed to accepting spent fuel that is not deemed safe. Tepco also said it will conduct a technical consideration of whether nuclear fuel stored in the spent fuel pools of the Fukushima No. 1 plant's No. 1 to No. 4 reactors can also undergo intermediate storage and reprocessing. The interim facility will store spent fuel from nuclear plants operated by Tepco and Japan Atomic Power for up to 50 years. It is the only facility in Japan outside of nuclear plant sites that uses a dry storage method in which spent fuel is stored in metal casks and chilled with natural air. It began operations last November, and the Aomori prefectural and Mutsu city governments had been urging Tepco to present a program for the facility swiftly.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Centrus Energy Stock Leaped 5% Higher Today
Centrus was granted a contract extension by one of the most important clients imaginable. The pact covers the supply of a particular nuclear fuel. 10 stocks we like better than Centrus Energy › Centrus Energy (NYSEMKT: LEU) attracted the right kind of energy on the stock exchange Friday. The company's shares closed that session 5% higher, after it published news of an important contract renewal. That pop looked particularly impressive when matched against the S&P 500's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) trajectory, which dipped into the red with a 0.2% decline. Before market open that morning, Centrus divulged that the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) exercised its option to extend the company's contract to produce for it high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The extension now runs through June 30, 2026. HALEU is a type of nuclear fuel that has a level of enrichment considered most suitable for current nuclear reactor technology, including the small nuclear reactors (SMRs) that have recently come into vogue. In what's probably not a coincidence, Centrus' latest news comes barely a week after its business partner Oklo was tapped to build and operate a nuclear plant to supply heat and electricity to an Air Force base in Alaska. The two companies have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in place for Centrus to supply HALEU for Oklo's projects. In its press release on the contract extension, Centrus added that the DoE holds options for further extensions to the existing contract. It could opt to keep Centrus's HALEU supply going for as much as a further eight years. So it's not only good news that a major business for the company has a longer runway, but it's looking for more as time goes by. Assuming President Trump's embrace of nuclear energy remains in place (and possibly outlives his administration), Centrus will be in a very good position indeed. Before you buy stock in Centrus Energy, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Centrus Energy wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Centrus Energy Stock Leaped 5% Higher Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU pushes back proposals to curb reliance on Russian nuclear fuel
By Kate Abnett LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) -The European Commission will not propose measures to limit the EU's reliance on Russian nuclear fuel this week alongside its proposals to ban Russian gas, EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Monday. The Commission is due to propose legal measures this week to end the EU's Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 - an aim the EU executive announced last month. The Commission had said it would also propose, in June, trade measures targeting enriched uranium, to make imports from Russia less attractive and encourage countries to switch to other suppliers. "That will also come, but in the first stage, we'll be focusing on the gas," Jorgensen told reporters on Monday, when asked about the timing of the nuclear proposals. He did not specify a new date for the proposals. "The question about nuclear is, of course, complicated, because we need to be very sure that we are not putting countries in a situation where they do not have the security of supply. So we're working as fast as we can to also make that a part of the proposal," Jorgensen said. Russia supplied 38% of the EU's enriched uranium and 23% of its raw uranium in 2023, according to the think-tank Bruegel. The Commission has said it would also propose restricting new supply contracts for Russian uranium and enriched uranium which are co-signed by the Euratom Supply Agency. While Brussels has fixed an end-2027 deadline by which it aims to quit Russian gas, it has not indicated a date by which the EU should quit Russian nuclear supplies, owing to the complexity of countries' reliance on Russia for fuel, spare parts, or fuel cycle services - and the risk to security of supply if these were suddenly severed. The EU spent 23 billion euros ($26.63 billion) on Russian energy in 2024, of which around 1 billion euros was for nuclear fuel, the Commission has said. Five EU countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia - have Russian-designed reactors set up to run on Russian fuel. While all except for Hungary have signed contracts for alternative supplies since 2022, years-long wait times mean they are not able to immediately switch. ($1 = 0.8636 euros) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU pushes back proposals to curb reliance on Russian nuclear fuel
LUXEMBOURG, June 16 (Reuters) - The European Commission will not propose measures to limit the EU's reliance on Russian nuclear fuel this week alongside its proposals to ban Russian gas, EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Monday. The Commission is due to propose legal measures this week to end the EU's Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 - an aim the EU executive announced last month. The Commission had said it would also propose, in June, trade measures targeting enriched uranium, to make imports from Russia less attractive and encourage countries to switch to other suppliers. "That will also come, but in the first stage, we'll be focusing on the gas," Jorgensen told reporters on Monday, when asked about the timing of the nuclear proposals. He did not specify a new date for the proposals. "The question about nuclear is, of course, complicated, because we need to be very sure that we are not putting countries in a situation where they do not have the security of supply. So we're working as fast as we can to also make that a part of the proposal," Jorgensen said. Russia supplied 38% of the EU's enriched uranium and 23% of its raw uranium in 2023, according to the think-tank Bruegel. The Commission has said it would also propose restricting new supply contracts for Russian uranium and enriched uranium which are co-signed by the Euratom Supply Agency. While Brussels has fixed an end-2027 deadline by which it aims to quit Russian gas, it has not indicated a date by which the EU should quit Russian nuclear supplies, owing to the complexity of countries' reliance on Russia for fuel, spare parts, or fuel cycle services - and the risk to security of supply if these were suddenly severed. The EU spent 23 billion euros ($26.63 billion) on Russian energy in 2024, of which around 1 billion euros was for nuclear fuel, the Commission has said. Five EU countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia - have Russian-designed reactors set up to run on Russian fuel. While all except for Hungary have signed contracts for alternative supplies since 2022, years-long wait times mean they are not able to immediately switch. ($1 = 0.8636 euros)
