more movement in the enrichment...

more movement in the enrichment space...
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsus-doe-pushes-ahead-with-haleu-development-10925174

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear has released a Notice of Intent (NOI) inviting public comment on the scope of an upcoming draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS will analyse the impacts of DOE’s proposed action to acquire high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) through procurement from commercial sources and to facilitate the establishment of commercial HALEU fuel production.

DOE says HALEU is a crucial material required by most US advanced reactors to achieve smaller designs, longer operating cycles, and increased efficiencies over current nuclear energy technologies. However, it is not currently available at commercial scale from domestic suppliers, which could significantly impact the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors.

Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr Kathryn Huff said: “Spurring the nation’s capability to produce HALEU will set the stage for larger, commercial scale production. This will bring us closer to deploying advanced nuclear technologies in communities across the country.”

The 2020 Energy Act directs DOE to establish and implement a programme to support the availability of HALEU for civilian, domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use. The NOI, therefore, focuses on the acquisition of HALEU produced by a commercial entity using enrichment technology and making it available for commercial use or demonstration projects. HALEU is defined under the Energy Act as “uranium having an assay greater than 5.0 weight percent and less than 20.0 weight percent of the uranium-235 isotope.”

The DOE intends to prepare an EIS in accordance with NEPA and invites the public to comment on the scope of the draft EIS until 20 July.