Reliable Fuel Supply project gains momentum

12 January 2007

[NNSA, 7 November] The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) has taken more small steps towards downblending 17.4 tonnes of high-enriched uranium (HEU). The NNSA issued a 'pre-solicitation notice' in advance of a request for proposals for diluting the material to 4.95% U-235. The material, from military stocks, will form the first deposit in the US nuclear fuel bank project known as the Reliable Fuel Supply, part of the USA's over-arching strategy, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). It is expected that a contractor to carry out the downblending will be chosen by May 2007 and begin work about two months after that.

Further information:

National Nuclear Security Administration