The National Nuclear Security Administration has indicated it plans to name an individual to oversee its lithium operations, an essential part of the work on thermonuclear weapons.
In the newly released Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, NNSA said a lithium strategic material manager will be named in 2016.
The new position would reportedly be similar to the NNSA role held by Tim Driscoll as uranium program manager. Steven Wyatt, spokesman in the NNSA’s Production Office, said the appointment has not been made. Asked if it was coming soon, he replied, “We have no indication when a lithium strategic materials manager might be appointed.”
As noted in the stockpile plan, lithium is used to manufacture nuclear weapons components. That work is carried out at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, which also provides lithium materials to the Department of Homeland Security and DOE’s Office of Science.
The reliability of lithium manufacturing for the future has been questioned in multiple reports, including one by the Government Accountability Office. But the NNSA said earlier this year that Y-12 has enough enriched lithium to meet its needs through 2028.
In the NNSA’s stockpile management report, the lithium plans are spelled out: “NNSA will continue to use 9204-2 (also known as Beta-2) and its process equipment to meet near-term stockpile needs while developing a plan for the lithium production capability to address long-term capability requirements.”
The government’s strategy is to restart a few processes in Beta-2 in the near term to provide additional feedstock, according to the report. “In lieu of full purification capabilities, material recycle is the only source of lithium for weapon systems,” the report says.
An analysis of lithium alternatives is underway and is to be finished by the third quarter of this fiscal year.
