The Office of Global Nuclear Fuel Assurance (NE-62), part of the Office of Corporate and Global Partnership Development (NE-6), supports the objective of the Department of Energy (DOE) to assure domestic and international supplies of fuel for nuclear power plants. The office’s principal domestic activities include supporting the Office of Nuclear Energy’s responsibilities with regard to uranium enrichment activities at DOE’s Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, Gaseous Diffusion Plant sites, and coordinating with other DOE offices on the use and disposition of DOE’s excess uranium inventory. For information on uranium and enrichment, please click here.
Fuel assemblies containing
low-enriched uranium are
loaded into a commercial nuclear power reactor.
NE-62 also participates in international activities to support the use of nuclear energy worldwide in a manner that is safe, secure, peaceful and economically viable. NE-62’s domestic and international objectives are met through cooperation with other DOE and Federal offices, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Department of State, National Security Council and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); industry and other public stakeholders; and international organizations.
Principal Activities
Management of DOE’s Excess Uranium Inventory
The Department of Energy manages an inventory of excess uranium acquired through U.S. defense programs, the U.S.–Russia Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase Agreement, the former DOE uranium enrichment enterprise, and other sources. This uranium is a potentially valuable commodity in terms of its monetary value, and also the role it could play in achieving vital DOE missions and maintaining a healthy domestic nuclear infrastructure. DOE supports the efficient management and orderly disposition of this excess uranium in a manner that maximizes the return on U.S. Government assets and does not cause adverse impact to the domestic nuclear fuel industry.
The Office of Nuclear Energy, through NE-62, works in close coordination with the DOE Office of Environmental Management and the National Nuclear Security Administration in carrying out these duties. On December 16, 2008, the Department of Energy Excess Uranium Inventory Management Plan was issued. This plan identifies various excess uranium inventories and describes sales or other disposition of the inventories that are under consideration or may be considered in the future. The Plan is expected to be periodically updated to reflect new and evolving information, policies and programs. A PDF copy of the latest Plan is available by clicking here.
Carrying Out Responsibilities at the DOE Gaseous Diffusion Plant Sites
Following passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the USEC Privatization Act (April 1996), DOE’s Uranium Enrichment Enterprise was privatized. The enterprise first transitioned as the United States Enrichment Corporation, a government corporation, beginning on July 1, 1993, which later became USEC Inc. (USEC), a fully privatized company, through an initial public stock offering on July 29, 1998. The Department’s gaseous diffusion plants at Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio were leased to USEC in 1993 for the purpose of uranium enrichment. In 2001, USEC ceased enrichment operations at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, leaving the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant as the nation’s sole operating enrichment facility.
Through an agreement reached in June 2002 between DOE and USEC, USEC is committed to (1) maintain a domestic uranium industry by continuing to operate the Paducah Plant and (2) deploy advanced enrichment technology. In its technology development program, USEC is pursuing the commercial deployment of its American Centrifuge, which is based on enhancements to DOE-developed centrifuge technology. USEC plans to build an American Centrifuge Plant at facilities under lease from DOE at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.
The Office of Nuclear Energy, through the NE-62 program office, coordinates with DOE’s Oak Ridge Office and the DOE Office of Environmental Management in support of NE’s statutory and policy responsibilities at the Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant sites. These activities include the ongoing administration of the lease with USEC; regulatory oversight of safety; and coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in leased areas under NRC regulatory responsibility.
Annual Report to Congress on the Effect of the U.S.-Russia Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase Agreement on the Domestic Nuclear Fuel Industry
The Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons (HEU Agreement) was signed on February 18, 1993. The HEU Agreement provides for the purchase over a 20-year period (1994–2013) of 500 metric tons (MT) of weapons-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) converted to commercial-grade low enriched uranium (LEU) from the Russian Federation (Russia). The Russian LEU is sold in the U.S. nuclear fuel market to commercial nuclear power plants through the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), the U.S. Executive Agent for the commercial agreement.
The HEU Agreement is a key element of U.S. nonproliferation policy, serving mutual U.S. and Russian interests. The HEU Agreement provides incentives for Russia to blend down HEU from its nuclear warheads into LEU for use and sale as fuel in commercial nuclear power plants. The revenue stream from the HEU Agreement provides an ongoing financial incentive for Russia to reduce its HEU inventory derived from surplus nuclear weapons. The Agreement also provides a structured mechanism to permit the sale of Russian enrichment and uranium products into a historically restricted U.S. market.
The Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration manages the highly enriched uranium transparency program, which fulfills the nonproliferation obligations of the Agreement by negotiating and implementing monitoring rights and providing technical assessments to ensure the elimination of Russian weapons-origin highly enriched uranium through its conversion to low enriched uranium. Section 3112(b) (10) of the United States Enrichment Corporation Privatization Act (Pub. L. No. 104-134) requires the President to report annually to Congress on the effect the low enriched uranium delivered under the HEU Agreement is having on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, and enrichment industries and the operation of the gaseous diffusion plants. NE-62 prepares and coordinates review of this document with other DOE and Federal offices before the report is formally submitted to Congress on behalf of the President. A PDF copy of the most recent Annual Report to Congress on the Effect of the U.S.-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement on the Domestic Nuclear Fuel Industry is available by clicking here.
Assurance of Domestic and International Nuclear Fuel Supplies
Global demand for electric power is expected to double by 2030. To meet this growing demand, many countries are considering the economical and carbon-free benefits of generating electricity from nuclear energy. However, some of these countries are concerned that the availability of nuclear fuel for their emerging requirements could be tested by significant increases in projected demand coming from both new and existing nuclear energy programs in other countries. To allay this concern, several countries, including the United States, in concert with the International Atomic Energy Agency, have proposed enhancements to the market that would provide countries with credible, cost-efficient options for assurance of supply.
Proposals for assurance of nuclear fuel supply include a development of a backup supply or “fuel bank” of enriched uranium, international fuel cycle centers, and government-to-government agreements.
NE-62’s mission includes providing technical leadership to help assure fuel supply and services in the international civil nuclear energy realm. NE-62 participates as a founding member in the international Reliable Nuclear Fuel Services Working Group. This working group identifies common interests among international partners and recommends practical measures to move towards reliable, comprehensive fuel service arrangements, including spent fuel management. The Working Group aims to further the use of nuclear power in a safe and secure manner, while meeting critical nonproliferation objectives.
