The Department of Energy on Monday released a draft solicitation for a contract under which it could acquire up to 145 metric tons of high assay low-enriched uranium to help develop new nuclear reactor designs.
Also on Monday, the agency released a draft solicitation for converting the energy-dense uranium into reactor fuel.
DOE did not list a firm state date for production of high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) in the draft solicitation it published Monday. The firm fixed-price contract or contracts for the work could cover as many as 10 years, according to the draft request for proposals.
Depending on the funding available and the number of awards it makes, DOE could trigger options that call for its contractor or contractors to deliver as few as five metric tons of HALEU over 10 years, as many as 145 metric tons or a range of amounts in between, according to the draft request for proposals.
“DOE projects that more than 40 metric tons of HALEU could be needed before the end of the decade, with additional amounts required each year, to deploy a new fleet of advanced reactors in a timeframe that supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035,” the agency wrote in a press release about the pair of draft solicitations it issued Monday.
Meanwhile, under the second draft solicitation, DOE would purchase HALEU deconversion services: essentially, turning the HALEU made under the production contract into something burnable in a nuclear reactor.
The indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery deconversion contract will also run for 10 years and also had no firm start date as of Monday, according to the draft solicitation for that deal.
HALEU contains up to 19.75% uranium 235 by mass. The two planned contracts detailed Monday are part of DOE’s HALEU Availability Program, which Congress created in 2020 and funded to the tune of $700 million in 2022 under the Inflation Reduction Act.
DOE’s HALEU Availability Program focuses on the commercial nuclear energy market, which creates openings for the U.S. operating units of foreign-owned companies to bid for the work.