RFA - DEMONSTRATION OF RECYCLING OF DEFENSE USED NUCLEAR FUEL

Please Note:  Amendment 2 provides the Government’s responses to the 26 questions submitted by industry during the solicitation’s inquiry period and issues one resulting correction to the Request for Application (RFA)  (See RFA page 23) . All other terms and conditions of the RFA remain unchanged.

On May 23, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14302, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base. The EO called for a recommended national policy to support the management of defense-related used nuclear fuel and high-level waste and the development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle capabilities to establish a safe, secure, and sustainable long-term fuel cycle.

To support implementation of EO 14302, the Department of Energy (DOE), is issuing this Request for Application (RFA) to solicit proposals from entities interested in entering into a long-term lease for property located at the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) cleanup site in Idaho, for the purpose of a large scale demonstration of the commercial viability of recycling defense-related used nuclear fuel (UNF) currently in storage at the site.

Due to the proposed size of the demonstration and the long period of time over which it will be conducted, DOE proposes making land located on the north side of the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) available for the new build of a dedicated facility.

DOE anticipates the demonstration will be conducted on a scale that demonstrates the complete steady-state recycling operation, including UNF handling, recycling, product separation, and waste management. The demonstration should be conducted using prototypical process equipment. The length of the demonstration is expected to be clearly defined in the proposal and lease agreement.

The Applicant will be responsible for all costs associated with the project and must demonstrate a sound understanding of nuclear fuel recycling as specified in this RFA.

Due to the sensitive nature and higher enrichment of defense-related UNF, EM is issuing this RFA in parallel with the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) RFA number DE-FOA-0003611. The DOE EM RFA is supported by Naval Reactors (NR). During the initial phase of the project, EM intends to make some UNF from DOE’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) available for the demonstration. Currently there are 3,400 UNF elements from ATR in storage at the site representing approximately 3 tHM of enriched uranium (Appendix A).

Subject to negotiations and to optimize any chemical decladding process, DOE will also consider making limited quantities of irradiated material that are representative of other defense related UNF, (e.g. NR UNF), available to the applicant. The ATR UNF and the other irradiated material could be a potential stepping-stone to reprocess other defense-related UNF using the process and new facility should the commercial entity successfully complete the demonstration and subsequent negotiations with DOE.

Teaming is strongly encouraged; however, due to the classified nature of the material being reprocessed or potentially reprocessed, any scope for a non-U.S. company must clearly be defined to ensure compliance with national security concerns. All staff working on the project must be capable of being granted requisite security clearance and facility clearance for the associated facility.