II 

Calendar No. 217 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 903 

[Report No. 116–114] 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish advanced nuclear goals, provide 

for a versatile, reactor-based fast neutron source, make available highassay, low-enriched uranium for research, development, and demonstration of advanced nuclear reactor concepts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2019 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. MANCHIN, 

Mr. RISCH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. COONS, Mrs. CAPITO, 

Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. 

PORTMAN, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. JONES, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

BRAUN, and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish advanced 

nuclear goals, provide for a versatile, reactor-based fast 

neutron source, make available high-assay, low-enriched 

uranium for research, development, and demonstration 

of advanced nuclear reactor concepts, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Energy Lead5 ership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF LONG-TERM POWER PUR7 CHASE AGREEMENTS. 

8 Section 501(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC UTILITY CONTRACTS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) TERM.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A contract 

14 under this paragraph to purchase 

15 electricity from a public utility may be 

16 for a period of not more than 40 

17 years. 

18 ‘‘(II) OTHER PUBLIC UTILITY

19 SERVICES.—A contract under this 

20 paragraph for a public utility service 

21 other than a service described in sub22 clause (I) may be for a period of not 

23 more than 10 years. 

24 ‘‘(ii) COSTS.—The cost of a contract 

25 under this paragraph for any fiscal year 


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1 may be paid from the appropriations for 

2 that fiscal year.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE AGREE4 MENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the En6 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

7 782) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 640. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE 

9 AGREEMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab11 lish a pilot program for a long-term power purchase agree12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the pilot pro14 gram under this section, the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) consult and coordinate with the heads of 

16 other Federal departments and agencies that may 

17 benefit from purchasing nuclear power for a period 

18 of longer than 10 years, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Defense; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(2) not later than December 31, 2023, enter 

23 into at least 1 agreement to purchase power from a 

24 commercial nuclear reactor that receives a license 


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1 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after Jan2 uary 1, 2019. 

3 ‘‘(c) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec5 tion, the Secretary shall give special consideration to 

6 power purchase agreements for first-of-a-kind or 

7 early deployment nuclear technologies that can pro8 vide reliable and resilient power to high-value assets 

9 for national security purposes or other purposes as 

10 the Secretary determines to be in the national inter11 est, especially in remote off-grid scenarios or grid12 connected scenarios that can provide capabilities 

13 commonly known as ‘islanding power capabilities’ 

14 during an emergency scenario. 

15 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON RATES.—An agreement to 

16 purchase power under this section may be at a rate 

17 that is higher than the average market rate, if the 

18 agreement fulfills an applicable consideration de19 scribed in paragraph (1).’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

21 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 

22 Stat. 594) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

23 to section 639 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 640. Long-term nuclear power purchase agreement pilot program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND DE2 VELOPMENT GOALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En4 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 959A. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH 

7 AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The 

10 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a nuclear fission reactor, including a 

12 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 

13 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 

14 (or successor regulations)), with significant im15 provements compared to the most recent gen16 eration of fission reactors, including improve17 ments such as— 

18 ‘‘(i) additional inherent safety fea19 tures; 

20 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

21 ‘‘(iii) improved fuel performance; 

22 ‘‘(iv) increased tolerance to loss of 

23 fuel cooling; 

24 ‘‘(v) enhanced reliability; 

25 ‘‘(vi) increased proliferation resist26 ance; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) increased thermal efficiency; 

2 ‘‘(viii) reduced consumption of cooling 

3 water; 

4 ‘‘(ix) the ability to integrate into elec5 tric applications and nonelectric applica6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(x) modular sizes to allow for deploy8 ment that corresponds with the demand 

9 for electricity; or 

10 ‘‘(xi) operational flexibility to respond 

11 to changes in demand for electricity and to 

12 complement integration with intermittent 

13 renewable energy; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a fusion reactor. 

15 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The term 

16 ‘demonstration project’ means an advanced nuclear 

17 reactor operated— 

18 ‘‘(A) as part of the power generation facili19 ties of an electric utility system; or 

20 ‘‘(B) in any other manner for the purpose 

21 of demonstrating the suitability for commercial 

22 application of the advanced nuclear reactor. 

23 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to di24 rect the Secretary, as soon as practicable after the date 

25 of enactment of this section, to advance the research and 


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1 development of domestic advanced, affordable, and clean 

2 nuclear energy by— 

3 ‘‘(1) demonstrating different advanced nuclear 

4 reactor technologies that could be used by the pri5 vate sector to produce— 

6 ‘‘(A) emission-free power at a levelized cost 

7 of electricity of $60 per megawatt-hour or less; 

8 ‘‘(B) heat for community heating, indus9 trial purposes, or synthetic fuel production; 

10 ‘‘(C) remote or off-grid energy supply; or 

11 ‘‘(D) backup or mission-critical power sup12 plies; 

13 ‘‘(2) developing subgoals for nuclear energy re14 search programs that would accomplish the goals of 

15 the demonstration projects carried out under sub16 section (c); 

17 ‘‘(3) identifying research areas that the private 

18 sector is unable or unwilling to undertake due to the 

19 cost of, or risks associated with, the research; and 

20 ‘‘(4) facilitating the access of the private sec21 tor— 

22 ‘‘(A) to Federal research facilities and per23 sonnel; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to the results of research relating to 

2 civil nuclear technology funded by the Federal 

3 Government. 

4 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the 

6 maximum extent practicable— 

7 ‘‘(A) complete not fewer than 2 advanced 

8 nuclear reactor demonstration projects by not 

9 later than December 31, 2025; and 

10 ‘‘(B) establish a program to demonstrate 

11 not fewer than 2, and not more than 5, addi12 tional operational advanced reactor designs by 

13 not later than December 31, 2035. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out dem15 onstration projects under paragraph (1), the Sec16 retary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) include diversity in designs for the 

18 advanced nuclear reactors demonstrated under 

19 this section, including designs using various— 

20 ‘‘(i) primary coolants; 

21 ‘‘(ii) fuel types and compositions; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) neutron spectra; 

23 ‘‘(B) seek to ensure that— 

24 ‘‘(i) the long-term cost of electricity or 

25 heat for each design to be demonstrated 


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1 under this subsection is cost-competitive in 

2 the applicable market; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the selected projects can meet 

4 the deadline established in paragraph (1) 

5 to demonstrate first-of-a-kind advanced 

6 nuclear reactor technologies, for which ad7 ditional information shall be considered, in8 cluding— 

9 ‘‘(I) the technology readiness 

10 level of a proposed advanced nuclear 

11 reactor technology; 

12 ‘‘(II) the technical abilities and 

13 qualifications of teams desiring to 

14 partner with the Department to dem15 onstrate a proposed advanced nuclear 

16 reactor technology; and 

17 ‘‘(III) the capacity to meet cost18 share requirements of the Depart19 ment; 

20 ‘‘(C) ensure that each evaluation of can21 didate technologies for the demonstration 

22 projects is completed through an external re23 view of proposed designs, which review shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) be conducted by a panel that in2 cludes not fewer than 1 representative of 

3 each of— 

4 ‘‘(I) an electric utility; and 

5 ‘‘(II) an entity that uses high6 temperature process heat for manu7 facturing or industrial processing, 

8 such as a petrochemical company, a 

9 manufacturer of metals, or a manu10 facturer of concrete; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) include a review of cost-competi12 tiveness and other value streams, together 

13 with the technology readiness level, of each 

14 design to be demonstrated under this sub15 section; 

16 ‘‘(D) enter into cost-sharing agreements 

17 with partners in accordance with section 988 

18 for the conduct of activities relating to the re19 search, development, and demonstration of pri20 vate-sector advanced nuclear reactor designs 

21 under the program; 

22 ‘‘(E) work with private sector partners to 

23 identify potential sites, including Department24 owned sites, for demonstrations, as appropriate; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) align specific activities carried out 

2 under demonstration projects carried out under 

3 this subsection with priorities identified through 

4 direct consultations between— 

5 ‘‘(i) the Department; 

6 ‘‘(ii) National Laboratories; 

7 ‘‘(iii) institutions of higher education; 

8 ‘‘(iv) traditional end-users (such as 

9 electric utilities); 

10 ‘‘(v) potential end-users of new tech11 nologies (such as users of high-tempera12 ture process heat for manufacturing proc13 essing, including petrochemical companies, 

14 manufacturers of metals, or manufacturers 

15 of concrete); and 

16 ‘‘(vi) developers of advanced nuclear 

17 reactor technology. 

18 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In car19 rying out demonstration projects under paragraph 

20 (1), the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) identify candidate technologies that— 

22 ‘‘(i) are not developed sufficiently for 

23 demonstration within the initial required 

24 timeframe described in paragraph (1)(A); 

25 but 


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1 ‘‘(ii) could be demonstrated within the 

2 timeframe described in paragraph (1)(B); 

3 ‘‘(B) identify technical challenges to the 

4 candidate technologies identified in subpara5 graph (A); 

6 ‘‘(C) support near-term research and devel7 opment to address the highest-risk technical 

8 challenges to the successful demonstration of a 

9 selected advanced reactor technology, in accord10 ance with— 

11 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (B); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the research and development ac13 tivities under section 958; 

14 ‘‘(D) establish such technology advisory 

15 working groups as the Secretary determines to 

16 be appropriate to advise the Secretary regard17 ing the technical challenges identified under 

18 subparagraph (B) and the scope of research 

19 and development programs to address the chal20 lenges, in accordance with subparagraph (C), to 

21 be comprised of— 

22 ‘‘(i) private-sector advanced nuclear 

23 reactor technology developers; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) technical experts with respect to 

2 the relevant technologies at institutions of 

3 higher education; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) technical experts at the National 

5 Laboratories. 

6 ‘‘(d) GOALS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab8 lish goals for research relating to advanced nuclear 

9 reactors facilitated by the Department that support 

10 the objectives of the program for demonstration 

11 projects established under subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In developing the goals 

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate, 

14 on an ongoing basis, with members of private indus15 try to advance the demonstration of various designs 

16 of advanced nuclear reactors. 

17 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the goals 

18 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(A) research activities facilitated by the 

21 Department to meet the goals developed under 

22 this subsection are focused on key areas of nu23 clear research and deployment ranging from 

24 basic science to full-design development, safety 

25 evaluation, and licensing; 


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1 ‘‘(B) research programs designed to meet 

2 the goals emphasize— 

3 ‘‘(i) resolving materials challenges re4 lating to extreme environments, including 

5 extremely high levels of— 

6 ‘‘(I) radiation fluence; 

7 ‘‘(II) temperature; 

8 ‘‘(III) pressure; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) corrosion; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) qualification of advanced fuels; 

11 ‘‘(C) activities are carried out that address 

12 near-term challenges in modeling and simula13 tion to enable accelerated design and licensing; 

14 ‘‘(D) related technologies, such as tech15 nologies to manage, reduce, or reuse nuclear 

16 waste, are developed; 

17 ‘‘(E) nuclear research infrastructure is 

18 maintained or constructed, such as— 

19 ‘‘(i) currently operational research re20 actors at the National Laboratories and in21 stitutions of higher education; 

22 ‘‘(ii) hot cell research facilities; 

23 ‘‘(iii) a versatile fast neutron source; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(iv) a molten salt testing facility; 


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1 ‘‘(F) basic knowledge of non-light water 

2 coolant physics and chemistry is improved; 

3 ‘‘(G) advanced sensors and control systems 

4 are developed; and 

5 ‘‘(H) advanced manufacturing and ad6 vanced construction techniques and materials 

7 are investigated to reduce the cost of advanced 

8 nuclear reactors.’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

10 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 

11 Stat. 594) is amended— 

12 (1) in the item relating to section 917, by strik13 ing ‘‘Efficiency’’; 

14 (2) in the items relating to sections 957, 958, 

15 and 959, by inserting ‘‘Sec.’’ before ‘‘9’’ each place 

16 it appears; and 

17 (3) by inserting after the item relating to sec18 tion 959 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 959A. Advanced nuclear reactor research and development goals.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. NUCLEAR ENERGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En21 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) (as 

22 amended by section 4(a)) is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 959B. NUCLEAR ENERGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

4 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re5 sources of the Senate and the Committees on Energy and 

6 Commerce and Science, Space, and Technology of the 

7 House of Representatives a 10-year strategic plan for the 

8 Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department, in accord9 ance with this section. 

10 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) COMPONENTS.—The strategic plan under 

12 this section shall designate— 

13 ‘‘(A) programs that support the planned 

14 accomplishment of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the goals established under sec16 tion 959A; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the demonstration programs 

18 identified under subsection (c) of that sec19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(B) programs that— 

21 ‘‘(i) do not support the planned ac22 complishment of demonstration programs, 

23 or the goals, referred to in subparagraph 

24 (A); but 


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1 ‘‘(ii) are important to the mission of 

2 the Office of Nuclear Energy, as deter3 mined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM PLANNING.—In developing the 

5 strategic plan under this section, the Secretary shall 

6 specify expected timelines for, as applicable— 

7 ‘‘(A) the accomplishment of relevant objec8 tives under current programs of the Depart9 ment; or 

10 ‘‘(B) the commencement of new programs 

11 to accomplish those objectives. 

12 ‘‘(c) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than once every 

13 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

15 Committees on Energy and Commerce and Science, Space, 

16 and Technology of the House of Representatives an up17 dated 10-year strategic plan in accordance with subsection 

18 (b), which shall identify, and provide a justification for, 

19 any major deviation from a previous strategic plan sub20 mitted under this section.’’. 

21 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

22 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 

23 Stat. 594) (as amended by section 4(b)(3)) is amended 

24 by inserting after the item relating to section 959A the 

25 following: 

‘‘Sec. 959B. Nuclear energy strategic plan.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. VERSATILE, REACTOR-BASED FAST NEUTRON 

2 SOURCE. 

3 Section 955(c)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

4 (42 U.S.C. 16275(c)(1)) is amended— 

5 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘MIS6 SION NEED’’ and inserting ‘‘AUTHORIZATION’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘determine 

8 the mission need’’ and inserting ‘‘provide’’. 

9 SEC. 7. ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PROGRAM. 

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

11 (1) the national security nuclear enterprise, 

12 which supports the nuclear weapons stockpile stew13 ardship and naval reactors functions of the National 

14 Nuclear Security Administration, requires a domes15 tic source of low- and high-enriched uranium in ac16 cordance with legal restrictions regarding foreign ob17 ligations relating to the beginning stage of the nu18 clear fuel cycle; 

19 (2) many domestic advanced nuclear power in20 dustry participants require access to high-assay, low21 enriched uranium fuel for— 

22 (A) initial fuel testing; 

23 (B) operation of demonstration reactors; 

24 and 

25 (C) commercial operation of advanced nu26 clear reactors; 


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1 (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, no 

2 domestic uranium enrichment or fuel fabrication ca3 pability exists for uranium fuel enriched to greater 

4 than 5 weight percent of the uranium-235 isotope; 

5 (4) a healthy commercial nuclear fuel cycle ca6 pable of providing higher levels of enriched uranium 

7 would benefit— 

8 (A) the relevant national security functions 

9 of the National Nuclear Security Administra10 tion; and 

11 (B) the domestic advanced nuclear indus12 try of the United States; and 

13 (5) making limited quantities of high-assay, 

14 low-enriched uranium available from Department of 

15 Energy stockpiles of uranium would allow for initial 

16 fuel testing and demonstration of advanced nuclear 

17 reactor concepts, accelerating— 

18 (A) the path to market of those concepts; 

19 and 

20 (B) the development of— 

21 (i) a market for advanced nuclear re22 actors; and 

23 (ii) a resulting growing commercial 

24 nuclear fuel cycle capability. 

25 (b) AMENDMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the 

2 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et 

3 seq.) (as amended by section 5(a)) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 960. ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PRO6 GRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) HALEU TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE.— 

9 The term ‘HALEU transportation package’ means a 

10 transportation package that is suitable for trans11 porting high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

12 ‘‘(2) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM.— 

13 The term ‘high-assay, low-enriched uranium’ means 

14 uranium with an assay greater than 5 weight per15 cent, but less than 20 weight percent, of the ura16 nium-235 isotope. 

17 ‘‘(3) HIGH-ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

18 ‘high-enriched uranium’ means uranium with an 

19 assay of 20 weight percent or more of the uranium20 235 isotope. 

21 ‘‘(b) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM PRO22 GRAM FOR ADVANCED REACTORS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec25 retary shall establish a program to make available 


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1 high-assay, low-enriched uranium, through contracts 

2 for sale, resale, transfer, or lease, for use in com3 mercial or noncommercial advanced nuclear reactors. 

4 ‘‘(2) NUCLEAR FUEL OWNERSHIP.—Each lease 

5 under this subsection shall include a provision estab6 lishing that the nuclear fuel that is the subject of 

7 the lease shall remain the property of the Depart8 ment, including with respect to responsibility for the 

9 final disposition of all radioactive waste created by 

10 the irradiation, processing, or purification of any 

11 leased uranium. 

12 ‘‘(3) QUANTITY.—In carrying out the program 

13 under this subsection, the Secretary shall make 

14 available— 

15 ‘‘(A) by December 31, 2022, high-assay, 

16 low-enriched uranium containing not less than 

17 2 metric tons of the uranium-235 isotope; and 

18 ‘‘(B) by December 31, 2025, high-assay, 

19 low-enriched uranium containing not less than 

20 10 metric tons of the uranium-235 isotope (as 

21 determined including the quantities of the ura22 nium-235 isotope made available before Decem23 ber 31, 2022). 

24 ‘‘(4) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In car25 rying out the program under this subsection, the 


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1 Secretary shall take into consideration options for 

2 providing the high-assay, low-enriched uranium 

3 under this subsection from a stockpile of uranium 

4 owned by the Department (including the National 

5 Nuclear Security Administration), including— 

6 ‘‘(A) fuel that— 

7 ‘‘(i) directly meets the needs of an 

8 end-user; but 

9 ‘‘(ii) has been previously used or fab10 ricated for another purpose; 

11 ‘‘(B) fuel that can meet the needs of an 

12 end-user after removing radioactive or other 

13 contaminants that resulted from a previous use 

14 or fabrication of the fuel for research, develop15 ment, demonstration, or deployment activities 

16 of the Department (including activities of the 

17 National Nuclear Security Administration); and 

18 ‘‘(C) fuel from a high-enriched uranium 

19 stockpile, which can be blended with lower20 assay uranium to become high-assay, low-en21 riched uranium to meet the needs of an end22 user. 

23 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

24 barter or otherwise sell or transfer uranium in any 

25 form in exchange for services relating to the final 


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1 disposition of radioactive waste from uranium that is 

2 the subject of a lease under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.—The program under this sub4 section shall terminate on the earlier of— 

5 ‘‘(A) January 1, 2035; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the date on which uranium enriched 

7 up to, but not equal to, 20 weight percent can 

8 be obtained in the commercial market from do9 mestic suppliers. 

10 ‘‘(c) REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec13 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

14 Congress a report that describes actions proposed to 

15 be carried out by the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(A) under the program under subsection 

17 (b); or 

18 ‘‘(B) otherwise to enable the commercial 

19 use of high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

20 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION AND STAKEHOLDER

21 INPUT.—In developing the report under this sub22 section, the Secretary shall seek input from— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

24 ‘‘(B) the National Laboratories; 

25 ‘‘(C) institutions of higher education; 


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1 ‘‘(D) a diverse group of entities operating 

2 in the nuclear energy industry; and 

3 ‘‘(E) a diverse group of technology devel4 opers. 

5 ‘‘(3) COST AND SCHEDULE ESTIMATES.—The 

6 report under this subsection shall include estimated 

7 costs, budgets, and timeframes for enabling the use 

8 of high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

9 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED EVALUATIONS.—The report 

10 under this subsection shall evaluate— 

11 ‘‘(A) the costs and actions required to es12 tablish and carry out the program under sub13 section (b), including with respect to— 

14 ‘‘(i) proposed preliminary terms for 

15 the sale, resale, transfer, and leasing of 

16 high-assay, low-enriched uranium (includ17 ing guidelines defining the roles and re18 sponsibilities between the Department and 

19 the purchaser, transfer recipient, or les20 see); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the potential to coordinate with 

22 purchasers, transfer recipients, and lessees 

23 regarding— 

24 ‘‘(I) fuel fabrication; and 

25 ‘‘(II) fuel transport; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the potential sources and fuel forms 

2 available to provide uranium for the program 

3 under subsection (b); 

4 ‘‘(C) options to coordinate the program 

5 under subsection (b) with the operation of the 

6 versatile, reactor-based fast neutron source 

7 under section 959A; 

8 ‘‘(D) the ability of the domestic uranium 

9 market to provide materials for advanced nu10 clear reactor fuel; and 

11 ‘‘(E) any associated legal, regulatory, and 

12 policy issues that should be addressed to en13 able— 

14 ‘‘(i) the program under subsection (b); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the establishment of a domestic 

17 industry capable of providing high-assay, 

18 low-enriched uranium for commercial and 

19 noncommercial purposes, including with re20 spect to the needs of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the Department; 

22 ‘‘(II) the Department of Defense; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(III) the National Nuclear Se25 curity Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(d) HALEU TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE RE2 SEARCH PROGRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

4 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec5 retary shall establish a research, development, and 

6 demonstration program under which the Secretary 

7 shall provide grants, on a competitive basis, to es8 tablish the capability to transport high-assay, low9 enriched uranium. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The focus of the pro11 gram under this subsection shall be to establish 1 or 

12 more HALEU transportation packages that can be 

13 certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to 

14 transport high-assay, low-enriched uranium to the 

15 various facilities involved in producing or using nu16 clear fuel containing high-assay, low-enriched ura17 nium, such as— 

18 ‘‘(A) enrichment facilities; 

19 ‘‘(B) fuel processing facilities; 

20 ‘‘(C) fuel fabrication facilities; and 

21 ‘‘(D) nuclear reactors.’’. 

22 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con23 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 

24 109–58; 119 Stat. 594) (as amended by section 


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1 5(b)) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

2 to section 959B the following: 

‘‘Sec. 960. Advanced nuclear fuel security program.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) nuclear power plants— 

6 (A) generate billions of dollars in national 

7 economic activity through procurements 

8 throughout the United States; and 

9 (B) provide tens of thousands of people in 

10 the United States with high-paying jobs, con11 tributing substantially to the local economies of 

12 the communities in which the plants operate; 

13 (2) the world market for the growth of commer14 cial nuclear power was estimated by the Department 

15 of Commerce to be valued at up to 

16 $740,000,000,000 during the period of calendar 

17 years 2018 through 2028; 

18 (3) the participation and leadership of the 

19 United States in the market described in paragraph 

20 (2) will— 

21 (A)(i) increase economic activity in the 

22 United States through robust nuclear exports, 

23 leading to the enhanced economic security of 

24 the United States; and 


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1 (ii) preserve and enhance the ability of the 

2 United States to positively influence inter3 national nuclear safety, security, and non4 proliferation standards through commercial en5 gagement with other nations; but 

6 (B) require significant investment in 

7 United States-origin advanced nuclear tech8 nologies; 

9 (4) in order to lead the world in the next gen10 eration of commercial nuclear power, the advanced 

11 nuclear industry in the United States should be posi12 tioned for accelerated growth, which requires public13 private partnerships between industry entities and 

14 the Federal Government; 

15 (5) success in achieving the goals described in 

16 this subsection will require a whole-government Fed17 eral approach that focuses on the shared needs and 

18 individual mission requirements of, at a minimum— 

19 (A) the Department of Energy; 

20 (B) the National Nuclear Security Admin21 istration; and 

22 (C) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

23 (6) advanced reactors present new challenges 

24 and opportunities in reactor design, safeguards, and 

25 regulation; 


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1 (7) the challenges referred to in paragraph 

2 (6)— 

3 (A) are directly relevant to the missions 

4 of— 

5 (i) the Office of Nuclear Energy of 

6 the Department of Energy; 

7 (ii) the National Nuclear Security Ad8 ministration; and 

9 (iii) the Nuclear Regulatory Commis10 sion; and 

11 (B) require a highly skilled workforce in 

12 order to be met; and 

13 (8) nuclear science and engineering programs 

14 at institutions of higher education in the United 

15 States— 

16 (A) annually award degrees in nuclear en17 gineering and related fields to more than 600 

18 undergraduate students, and 500 graduate stu19 dents, who are critical to maintaining United 

20 States leadership in the development of ad21 vanced nuclear systems; 

22 (B) perform cutting-edge research and 

23 technology development activities that have 

24 made fundamental contributions to advancing 

25 United States nuclear technology; and 


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1 (C) support workforce development critical 

2 to maintaining United States leadership in nu3 clear detection, nonproliferation, nuclear medi4 cine, advanced manufacturing, and other non5 energy areas. 

6 (b) AMENDMENT.—Section 313 of the Energy and 

7 Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations 

8 Act, 2009 (42 U.S.C. 16274a), is amended to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 313. UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The 

13 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a nuclear fission reactor, including a 

15 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 

16 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 

17 (or successor regulations)), with significant im18 provements compared to the most recent gen19 eration of fission reactors, including improve20 ments such as— 

21 ‘‘(i) additional inherent safety fea22 tures; 

23 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

24 ‘‘(iii) improved fuel performance; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) increased tolerance to loss of 

2 fuel cooling; 

3 ‘‘(v) enhanced reliability; 

4 ‘‘(vi) increased proliferation resist5 ance; 

6 ‘‘(vii) increased thermal efficiency; 

7 ‘‘(viii) reduced consumption of cooling 

8 water; 

9 ‘‘(ix) the ability to integrate into elec10 tric applications and nonelectric applica11 tions; 

12 ‘‘(x) modular sizes to allow for deploy13 ment that corresponds with the demand 

14 for electricity; or 

15 ‘‘(xi) operational flexibility to respond 

16 to changes in demand for electricity and to 

17 complement integration with intermittent 

18 renewable energy; and 

19 ‘‘(B) a fusion reactor. 

20 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

21 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

2 the University Nuclear Leadership Program estab3 lished under subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, 

5 the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Ad6 ministration, and the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 

7 Commission shall jointly establish a program, to be known 

8 as the ‘University Nuclear Leadership Program’. 

9 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), amounts made available to carry out the 

12 Program shall be used to provide financial assistance 

13 for scholarships, fellowships, and research and devel14 opment projects at institutions of higher education 

15 in areas relevant to the programmatic mission of the 

16 applicable Federal agency providing the financial as17 sistance with respect to research, development, dem18 onstration, and deployment activities for technologies 

19 relevant to advanced nuclear reactors, including rel20 evant fuel cycle technologies. 

21 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

22 (1), amounts made available to carry out the Pro23 gram may be used to provide financial assistance for 

24 a scholarship, fellowship, or multiyear research and 

25 development project that does not align directly with 


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1 a programmatic mission of the applicable Federal 

2 agency providing the financial assistance, if the ac3 tivity for which assistance is provided would facili4 tate the maintenance of the discipline of nuclear 

5 science or nuclear engineering. 

6 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec8 essary to carry out the Program.’’. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Energy Leader11 ship Act’’. 

12 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF LONG-TERM POWER PURCHASE 

13 AGREEMENTS. 

14 Section 501(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC UTILITY CONTRACTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) TERM.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A contract 

20 under this paragraph to purchase elec21 tricity from a public utility may be for 

22 a period of not more than 40 years. 

23 ‘‘(II) OTHER PUBLIC UTILITY

24 SERVICES.—A contract under this 

25 paragraph for a public utility service 


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1 other than a service described in sub2 clause (I) may be for a period of not 

3 more than 10 years. 

4 ‘‘(ii) COSTS.—The cost of a contract 

5 under this paragraph for any fiscal year 

6 may be paid from the appropriations for 

7 that fiscal year.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE AGREE9 MENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 782) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 640. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE AGREE14 MENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

16 a pilot program for a long-term nuclear power purchase 

17 agreement. 

18 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the pilot pro19 gram under this section, the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) consult and coordinate with the heads of 

21 other Federal departments and agencies that may 

22 benefit from purchasing nuclear power for a period of 

23 longer than 10 years, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Defense; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) not later than December 31, 2023, enter 

4 into at least 1 agreement to purchase power from a 

5 commercial nuclear reactor that receives the first li6 cense for that reactor from the Nuclear Regulatory 

7 Commission after January 1, 2019. 

8 ‘‘(c) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

10 the Secretary shall give special consideration to power 

11 purchase agreements for first-of-a-kind or early de12 ployment nuclear technologies that can provide reli13 able and resilient power to high-value assets for na14 tional security purposes or other purposes as the Sec15 retary determines to be in the national interest, espe16 cially in remote off-grid scenarios or grid-connected 

17 scenarios that can provide capabilities commonly 

18 known as ‘islanding power capabilities’ during an 

19 emergency scenario. 

20 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON RATES.—An agreement to pur21 chase power under this section may be at a rate that 

22 is higher than the average market rate, if the agree23 ment fulfills an applicable consideration described in 

24 paragraph (1).’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of the 

2 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

3 594) is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec4 tion 639 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 640. Long-term nuclear power purchase agreement pilot program.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND DE6 VELOPMENT GOALS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the Energy 

8 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 959A. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND 

11 DEVELOPMENT GOALS. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

14 ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) a nuclear fission reactor, including a 

16 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 

17 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

18 successor regulations)), with significant improve19 ments compared to the most recent generation of 

20 fission reactors, including improvements such 

21 as— 

22 ‘‘(i) additional inherent safety features; 

23 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

24 ‘‘(iii) improved fuel performance; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) increased tolerance to loss of fuel 

2 cooling; 

3 ‘‘(v) enhanced reliability; 

4 ‘‘(vi) increased proliferation resistance; 

5 ‘‘(vii) increased thermal efficiency; 

6 ‘‘(viii) reduced consumption of cooling 

7 water; 

8 ‘‘(ix) the ability to integrate into elec9 tric applications and nonelectric applica10 tions; 

11 ‘‘(x) modular sizes to allow for deploy12 ment that corresponds with the demand for 

13 electricity; or 

14 ‘‘(xi) operational flexibility to respond 

15 to changes in demand for electricity and to 

16 complement integration with intermittent 

17 renewable energy; and 

18 ‘‘(B) a fusion reactor. 

19 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The term 

20 ‘demonstration project’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) an advanced nuclear reactor oper22 ated— 

23 ‘‘(i) as part of the power generation fa24 cilities of an electric utility system; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in any other manner for the pur2 pose of demonstrating the suitability for 

3 commercial application of the advanced nu4 clear reactor; 

5 ‘‘(B) the demonstration of privately funded 

6 experimental advanced nuclear reactors, funded 

7 in whole or in part by the private sector, at Na8 tional Laboratories or other sites owned by the 

9 Department of Energy; and 

10 ‘‘(C) an advanced nuclear reactor dem11 onstrated by the Secretary of Defense in coopera12 tion with the Secretary of Energy. 

13 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to direct 

14 the Secretary, as soon as practicable after the date of enact15 ment of this section, to advance the research and develop16 ment of domestic advanced, affordable, and clean nuclear 

17 energy by— 

18 ‘‘(1) demonstrating different advanced nuclear 

19 reactor technologies that could be used by the private 

20 sector to produce— 

21 ‘‘(A) emission-free power at a levelized cost 

22 of electricity of $60 per megawatt-hour or less; 

23 ‘‘(B) heat for community heating, indus24 trial purposes, or synthetic fuel production; 

25 ‘‘(C) remote or off-grid energy supply; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) backup or mission-critical power sup2 plies; 

3 ‘‘(2) developing subgoals for nuclear energy re4 search programs that would accomplish the goals of 

5 the demonstration projects carried out under sub6 section (c); 

7 ‘‘(3) identifying research areas that the private 

8 sector is unable or unwilling to undertake due to the 

9 cost of, or risks associated with, the research; and 

10 ‘‘(4) facilitating the access of the private sector— 

11 ‘‘(A) to Federal research facilities and per12 sonnel; and 

13 ‘‘(B) to the results of research relating to 

14 civil nuclear technology funded by the Federal 

15 Government. 

16 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the 

18 maximum extent practicable— 

19 ‘‘(A) enter into agreements to complete not 

20 fewer than 2 demonstration projects by not later 

21 than December 31, 2025; and 

22 ‘‘(B) establish a program to enter into 

23 agreements to demonstrate not fewer than 2, and 

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1 vanced reactor designs by not later than Decem2 ber 31, 2035. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out dem4 onstration projects under paragraph (1), the Sec5 retary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) include diversity in designs for the ad7 vanced nuclear reactors demonstrated under this 

8 section, including designs using various— 

9 ‘‘(i) primary coolants; 

10 ‘‘(ii) fuel types and compositions; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) neutron spectra; 

12 ‘‘(B) seek to ensure that— 

13 ‘‘(i) the long-term cost of electricity or 

14 heat for each design to be demonstrated 

15 under this subsection is cost-competitive in 

16 the applicable market; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the selected projects can meet the 

18 deadline established in paragraph (1) to 

19 demonstrate first-of-a-kind advanced nu20 clear reactor technologies, for which addi21 tional information shall be considered, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(I) the technology readiness level 

24 of a proposed advanced nuclear reactor 

25 technology; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the technical abilities and 

2 qualifications of teams desiring to 

3 demonstrate a proposed advanced nu4 clear reactor technology; and 

5 ‘‘(III) the capacity to meet cost6 share requirements of the Department; 

7 ‘‘(C) ensure that each evaluation of can8 didate technologies for the demonstration projects 

9 is completed through an external review of pro10 posed designs, which review shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) be conducted by a panel that in12 cludes not fewer than 1 representative of 

13 each of— 

14 ‘‘(I) an electric utility; and 

15 ‘‘(II) an entity that uses high16 temperature process heat for manufac17 turing or industrial processing, such as 

18 a petrochemical company, a manufac19 turer of metals, or a manufacturer of 

20 concrete; 

21 ‘‘(ii) include a review of cost-competi22 tiveness and other value streams, together 

23 with the technology readiness level, of each 

24 design to be demonstrated under this sub25 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) not be required for a demonstra2 tion project that is not federally funded; 

3 ‘‘(D) for federally funded demonstration 

4 projects, enter into cost-sharing agreements with 

5 private sector partners in accordance with sec6 tion 988 for the conduct of activities relating to 

7 the research, development, and demonstration of 

8 private-sector advanced nuclear reactor designs 

9 under the program; 

10 ‘‘(E) work with private sector partners to 

11 identify potential sites, including Department12 owned sites, for demonstrations, as appropriate; 

13 ‘‘(F) align specific activities carried out 

14 under demonstration projects carried out under 

15 this subsection with priorities identified through 

16 direct consultations between— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Department; 

18 ‘‘(ii) National Laboratories; 

19 ‘‘(iii) institutions of higher education; 

20 ‘‘(iv) traditional end-users (such as 

21 electric utilities); 

22 ‘‘(v) potential end-users of new tech23 nologies (such as users of high-temperature 

24 process heat for manufacturing processing, 

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1 facturers of metals, or manufacturers of 

2 concrete); and 

3 ‘‘(vi) developers of advanced nuclear 

4 reactor technology; and 

5 ‘‘(G) seek to ensure that the demonstration 

6 projects carried out under paragraph (1) do not 

7 cause any delay in a deployment of an advanced 

8 reactor by private industry and the Department 

9 of Energy that is underway as of the date of en10 actment of this section. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying 

12 out demonstration projects under paragraph (1), the 

13 Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) identify candidate technologies that— 

15 ‘‘(i) are not developed sufficiently for 

16 demonstration within the initial required 

17 timeframe described in paragraph (1)(A); 

18 but 

19 ‘‘(ii) could be demonstrated within the 

20 timeframe described in paragraph (1)(B); 

21 ‘‘(B) identify technical challenges to the 

22 candidate technologies identified in subpara23 graph (A); 

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1 lenges to the successful demonstration of a se2 lected advanced reactor technology, in accordance 

3 with— 

4 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (B); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the research and development ac6 tivities under section 958; 

7 ‘‘(D) establish such technology advisory 

8 working groups as the Secretary determines to be 

9 appropriate to advise the Secretary regarding 

10 the technical challenges identified under sub11 paragraph (B) and the scope of research and de12 velopment programs to address the challenges, in 

13 accordance with subparagraph (C), to be com14 prised of— 

15 ‘‘(i) private-sector advanced nuclear 

16 reactor technology developers; 

17 ‘‘(ii) technical experts with respect to 

18 the relevant technologies at institutions of 

19 higher education; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) technical experts at the National 

21 Laboratories. 

22 ‘‘(d) GOALS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

24 goals for research relating to advanced nuclear reac25 tors facilitated by the Department that support the 


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1 objectives of the program for demonstration projects 

2 established under subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In developing the goals 

4 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate, 

5 on an ongoing basis, with members of private indus6 try to advance the demonstration of various designs 

7 of advanced nuclear reactors. 

8 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the goals 

9 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(A) research activities facilitated by the 

12 Department to meet the goals developed under 

13 this subsection are focused on key areas of nu14 clear research and deployment ranging from 

15 basic science to full-design development, safety 

16 evaluation, and licensing; 

17 ‘‘(B) research programs designed to meet the 

18 goals emphasize— 

19 ‘‘(i) resolving materials challenges re20 lating to extreme environments, including 

21 extremely high levels of— 

22 ‘‘(I) radiation fluence; 

23 ‘‘(II) temperature; 

24 ‘‘(III) pressure; and 

25 ‘‘(IV) corrosion; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) qualification of advanced fuels; 

2 ‘‘(C) activities are carried out that address 

3 near-term challenges in modeling and simulation 

4 to enable accelerated design and licensing; 

5 ‘‘(D) related technologies, such as tech6 nologies to manage, reduce, or reuse nuclear 

7 waste, are developed; 

8 ‘‘(E) nuclear research infrastructure is 

9 maintained or constructed, such as— 

10 ‘‘(i) currently operational research re11 actors at the National Laboratories and in12 stitutions of higher education; 

13 ‘‘(ii) hot cell research facilities; 

14 ‘‘(iii) a versatile fast neutron source; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(iv) a molten salt testing facility; 

17 ‘‘(F) basic knowledge of non-light water 

18 coolant physics and chemistry is improved; 

19 ‘‘(G) advanced sensors and control systems 

20 are developed; and 

21 ‘‘(H) advanced manufacturing and ad22 vanced construction techniques and materials are 

23 investigated to reduce the cost of advanced nu24 clear reactors.’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of the 

2 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

3 594) is amended— 

4 (1) in the item relating to section 917, by strik5 ing ‘‘Efficiency’’; 

6 (2) in the items relating to sections 957, 958, 

7 and 959, by inserting ‘‘Sec.’’ before ‘‘9’’ each place it 

8 appears; and 

9 (3) by inserting after the item relating to section 

10 959 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 959A. Advanced nuclear reactor research and development goals.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. NUCLEAR ENERGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the Energy 

13 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) (as amended 

14 by section 4(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 959B. NUCLEAR ENERGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit 

19 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

20 Senate and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 

21 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa22 tives a 10-year strategic plan for the Office of Nuclear En23 ergy of the Department, in accordance with this section. 

24 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COMPONENTS.—The strategic plan under 

2 this section shall designate— 

3 ‘‘(A) programs that support the planned ac4 complishment of— 

5 ‘‘(i) the goals established under section 

6 959A; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the demonstration programs iden8 tified under subsection (c) of that section; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) programs that— 

11 ‘‘(i) do not support the planned accom12 plishment of demonstration programs, or 

13 the goals, referred to in subparagraph (A); 

14 but 

15 ‘‘(ii) are important to the mission of 

16 the Office of Nuclear Energy, as determined 

17 by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM PLANNING.—In developing the 

19 strategic plan under this section, the Secretary shall 

20 specify expected timelines for, as applicable— 

21 ‘‘(A) the accomplishment of relevant objec22 tives under current programs of the Department; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(B) the commencement of new programs to 

25 accomplish those objectives. 


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1 ‘‘(c) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than once every 2 

2 years, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En3 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Commit4 tees on Energy and Commerce and Science, Space, and 

5 Technology of the House of Representatives an updated 10- 

6 year strategic plan in accordance with subsection (b), which 

7 shall identify, and provide a justification for, any major 

8 deviation from a previous strategic plan submitted under 

9 this section.’’. 

10 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of the 

11 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

12 594) (as amended by section 4(b)(3)) is amended by insert13 ing after the item relating to section 959A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 959B. Nuclear energy strategic plan.’’. 

14 SEC. 6. VERSATILE, REACTOR-BASED FAST NEUTRON 

15 SOURCE. 

16 Section 955(c)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

17 U.S.C. 16275(c)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘MIS19 SION NEED’’ and inserting ‘‘AUTHORIZATION’’; and 

20 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘determine 

21 the mission need’’ and inserting ‘‘provide’’. 

22 SEC. 7. ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PROGRAM. 

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

24 (1) the national security nuclear enterprise, 

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1 ardship and naval reactors functions of the National 

2 Nuclear Security Administration, requires a domestic 

3 source of low- and high-enriched uranium in accord4 ance with legal restrictions regarding foreign obliga5 tions relating to the beginning stage of the nuclear 

6 fuel cycle; 

7 (2) many domestic advanced nuclear power in8 dustry participants require access to high-assay, low9 enriched uranium fuel for— 

10 (A) initial fuel testing; 

11 (B) operation of demonstration reactors; 

12 and 

13 (C) commercial operation of advanced nu14 clear reactors; 

15 (3) nuclear fuel supply technology originating in 

16 the United States is not required for use in civilian 

17 advanced reactor applications; 

18 (4) as of the date of enactment of this Act, no do19 mestic uranium enrichment or fuel fabrication capa20 bility is licensed for uranium fuel enriched to greater 

21 than 5 weight percent of the uranium-235 isotope; 

22 (5) a healthy commercial nuclear fuel cycle capa23 ble of providing higher levels of enriched uranium 

24 would benefit— 


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1 (A) the relevant national security functions 

2 of the National Nuclear Security Administra3 tion; and 

4 (B) the domestic advanced nuclear industry 

5 of the United States; and 

6 (6) making limited quantities of high-assay, low7 enriched uranium available from Department of En8 ergy stockpiles of uranium would allow for initial 

9 fuel testing and demonstration of advanced nuclear 

10 reactor concepts, accelerating— 

11 (A) the path to market of those concepts; 

12 and 

13 (B) the development of— 

14 (i) a market for advanced nuclear re15 actors; and 

16 (ii) a resulting growing commercial 

17 nuclear fuel cycle capability. 

18 (b) AMENDMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the 

20 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) 

21 (as amended by section 5(a)) is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 960. ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PROGRAM. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) HALEU TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE.—The 

2 term ‘HALEU transportation package’ means a 

3 transportation package that is suitable for trans4 porting high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

5 ‘‘(2) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM.— 

6 The term ‘high-assay, low-enriched uranium’ means 

7 uranium with an assay greater than 5 weight per8 cent, but less than 20 weight percent, of the uranium9 235 isotope. 

10 ‘‘(3) HIGH-ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

11 ‘high-enriched uranium’ means uranium with an 

12 assay of 20 weight percent or more of the uranium13 235 isotope. 

14 ‘‘(b) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM PRO15 GRAM FOR ADVANCED REACTORS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec18 retary shall establish a program to make available 

19 high-assay, low-enriched uranium, through contracts 

20 for sale, resale, transfer, or lease, for use in commer21 cial or noncommercial advanced nuclear reactors. 

22 ‘‘(2) NUCLEAR FUEL OWNERSHIP.—Each lease 

23 under this subsection shall include a provision estab24 lishing that the nuclear fuel that is the subject of the 

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1 cluding with respect to responsibility for the final dis2 position of all radioactive waste created by the irra3 diation, processing, or purification of any leased ura4 nium. 

5 ‘‘(3) QUANTITY.—In carrying out the program 

6 under this subsection, the Secretary shall make avail7 able— 

8 ‘‘(A) by December 31, 2022, high-assay, 

9 low-enriched uranium containing not less than 2 

10 metric tons of the uranium-235 isotope; and 

11 ‘‘(B) by December 31, 2025, high-assay, 

12 low-enriched uranium containing not less than 

13 10 metric tons of the uranium-235 isotope (as 

14 determined including the quantities of the ura15 nium-235 isotope made available before Decem16 ber 31, 2022). 

17 ‘‘(4) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In car18 rying out the program under this subsection, the Sec19 retary shall take into consideration— 

20 ‘‘(A) options for providing the high-assay, 

21 low-enriched uranium under this subsection from 

22 a stockpile of uranium owned by the Department 

23 (including the National Nuclear Security Ad24 ministration), including— 

25 ‘‘(i) fuel that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) directly meets the needs of an 

2 end-user; but 

3 ‘‘(II) has been previously used or 

4 fabricated for another purpose; 

5 ‘‘(ii) fuel that can meet the needs of an 

6 end-user after removing radioactive or other 

7 contaminants that resulted from a previous 

8 use or fabrication of the fuel for research, 

9 development, demonstration, or deployment 

10 activities of the Department (including ac11 tivities of the National Nuclear Security 

12 Administration); and 

13 ‘‘(iii) fuel from a high-enriched ura14 nium stockpile, which can be blended with 

15 lower-assay uranium to become high-assay, 

16 low-enriched uranium to meet the needs of 

17 an end-user; and 

18 ‘‘(B) requirements to support molybdenum19 99 production under the American Medical Iso20 topes Production Act of 2012 (Public Law 112– 

21 239; 126 Stat. 2211). 

22 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not bar23 ter or otherwise sell or transfer uranium in any form 

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1 tion of radioactive waste from uranium that is the 

2 subject of a lease under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.—The program under this sub4 section shall terminate on the earlier of— 

5 ‘‘(A) January 1, 2035; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the date on which uranium enriched 

7 up to, but not equal to, 20 weight percent can 

8 be obtained in the commercial market from do9 mestic suppliers. 

10 ‘‘(c) REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec13 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

14 Congress a report that describes actions proposed to 

15 be carried out by the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(A) under the program under subsection 

17 (b); or 

18 ‘‘(B) otherwise to enable the commercial use 

19 of high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

20 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION AND STAKEHOLDER

21 INPUT.—In developing the report under this sub22 section, the Secretary shall seek input from— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

24 ‘‘(B) the National Laboratories; 

25 ‘‘(C) institutions of higher education; 


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1 ‘‘(D) producers of medical isotopes; 

2 ‘‘(E) a diverse group of entities operating 

3 in the nuclear energy industry; and 

4 ‘‘(F) a diverse group of technology devel5 opers. 

6 ‘‘(3) COST AND SCHEDULE ESTIMATES.—The re7 port under this subsection shall include estimated 

8 costs, budgets, and timeframes for enabling the use of 

9 high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

10 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED EVALUATIONS.—The report 

11 under this subsection shall evaluate— 

12 ‘‘(A) the costs and actions required to estab13 lish and carry out the program under subsection 

14 (b), including with respect to— 

15 ‘‘(i) proposed preliminary terms for 

16 the sale, resale, transfer, and leasing of 

17 high-assay, low-enriched uranium (includ18 ing guidelines defining the roles and respon19 sibilities between the Department and the 

20 purchaser, transfer recipient, or lessee); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the potential to coordinate with 

22 purchasers, transfer recipients, and lessees 

23 regarding— 

24 ‘‘(I) fuel fabrication; and 

25 ‘‘(II) fuel transport; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the potential sources and fuel forms 

2 available to provide uranium for the program 

3 under subsection (b); 

4 ‘‘(C) options to coordinate the program 

5 under subsection (b) with the operation of the 

6 versatile, reactor-based fast neutron source under 

7 section 959A; 

8 ‘‘(D) the ability of the domestic uranium 

9 market to provide materials for advanced nu10 clear reactor fuel; and 

11 ‘‘(E) any associated legal, regulatory, and 

12 policy issues that should be addressed to enable— 

13 ‘‘(i) the program under subsection (b); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the establishment of a domestic 

16 industry capable of providing high-assay, 

17 low-enriched uranium for commercial and 

18 noncommercial purposes, including with re19 spect to the needs of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the Department; 

21 ‘‘(II) the Department of Defense; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(III) the National Nuclear Secu24 rity Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(d) HALEU TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE RESEARCH

2 PROGRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

4 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

5 shall establish a research, development, and dem6 onstration program under which the Secretary shall 

7 provide grants, on a competitive basis, to establish the 

8 capability to transport high-assay, low-enriched ura9 nium. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The focus of the program 

11 under this subsection shall be to establish 1 or more 

12 HALEU transportation packages that can be certified 

13 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transport 

14 high-assay, low-enriched uranium to the various fa15 cilities involved in producing or using nuclear fuel 

16 containing high-assay, low-enriched uranium, such 

17 as— 

18 ‘‘(A) enrichment facilities; 

19 ‘‘(B) fuel processing facilities; 

20 ‘‘(C) fuel fabrication facilities; and 

21 ‘‘(D) nuclear reactors.’’. 

22 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

23 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109– 

24 58; 119 Stat. 594) (as amended by section 5(b)) is 


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1 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec2 tion 959B the following: 

‘‘Sec. 960. Advanced nuclear fuel security program.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) nuclear power plants— 

6 (A) generate billions of dollars in national 

7 economic activity through procurements through8 out the United States; and 

9 (B) provide tens of thousands of people in 

10 the United States with high-paying jobs, contrib11 uting substantially to the local economies of the 

12 communities in which the plants operate; 

13 (2) the world market for the growth of commer14 cial nuclear power was estimated by the Department 

15 of Commerce to be valued at up to $740,000,000,000 

16 during the period of calendar years 2018 through 

17 2028; 

18 (3) the participation and leadership of the 

19 United States in the market described in paragraph 

20 (2) will— 

21 (A)(i) increase economic activity in the 

22 United States through robust nuclear exports, 

23 leading to the enhanced economic security of the 

24 United States; and 


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1 (ii) preserve and enhance the ability of the 

2 United States to positively influence inter3 national nuclear safety, security, and non4 proliferation standards through commercial en5 gagement with other nations; but 

6 (B) require significant investment in 

7 United States-origin advanced nuclear tech8 nologies; 

9 (4) in order to lead the world in the next genera10 tion of commercial nuclear power, the advanced nu11 clear industry in the United States should be posi12 tioned for accelerated growth, which requires public13 private partnerships between industry entities and 

14 the Federal Government; 

15 (5) success in achieving the goals described in 

16 this subsection will require a whole-government Fed17 eral approach that focuses on the shared needs and 

18 individual mission requirements of, at a minimum— 

19 (A) the Department of Energy; 

20 (B) the National Nuclear Security Adminis21 tration; and 

22 (C) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

23 (6) advanced reactors present new challenges and 

24 opportunities in reactor design, safeguards, and regu25 lation; 


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1 (7) the challenges referred to in paragraph (6)— 

2 (A) are directly relevant to the missions 

3 of— 

4 (i) the Office of Nuclear Energy of the 

5 Department of Energy; 

6 (ii) the National Nuclear Security Ad7 ministration; and 

8 (iii) the Nuclear Regulatory Commis9 sion; and 

10 (B) require a highly skilled workforce in 

11 order to be met; and 

12 (8) nuclear science and engineering programs at 

13 institutions of higher education in the United 

14 States— 

15 (A) annually award degrees in nuclear en16 gineering and related fields to more than 600 

17 undergraduate students, and 500 graduate stu18 dents, who are critical to maintaining United 

19 States leadership in the development of advanced 

20 nuclear systems; 

21 (B) perform cutting-edge research and tech22 nology development activities that have made 

23 fundamental contributions to advancing United 

24 States nuclear technology; and 


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1 (C) support workforce development critical 

2 to maintaining United States leadership in nu3 clear detection, nonproliferation, nuclear medi4 cine, advanced manufacturing, and other non5 energy areas. 

6 (b) AMENDMENT.—Section 313 of the Energy and 

7 Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations 

8 Act, 2009 (42 U.S.C. 16274a), is amended to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 313. UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

13 ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a nuclear fission reactor, including a 

15 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 

16 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

17 successor regulations)), with significant improve18 ments compared to the most recent generation of 

19 fission reactors, including improvements such 

20 as— 

21 ‘‘(i) additional inherent safety features; 

22 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

23 ‘‘(iii) improved fuel performance; 

24 ‘‘(iv) increased tolerance to loss of fuel 

25 cooling; 


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1 ‘‘(v) enhanced reliability; 

2 ‘‘(vi) increased proliferation resistance; 

3 ‘‘(vii) increased thermal efficiency; 

4 ‘‘(viii) reduced consumption of cooling 

5 water; 

6 ‘‘(ix) the ability to integrate into elec7 tric applications and nonelectric applica8 tions; 

9 ‘‘(x) modular sizes to allow for deploy10 ment that corresponds with the demand for 

11 electricity; or 

12 ‘‘(xi) operational flexibility to respond 

13 to changes in demand for electricity and to 

14 complement integration with intermittent 

15 renewable energy; and 

16 ‘‘(B) a fusion reactor. 

17 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

18 term ‘institution of higher education’ has the meaning 

19 given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

21 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means the 

22 University Nuclear Leadership Program established 

23 under subsection (b). 

24 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, the 

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1 tration, and the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com2 mission shall jointly establish a program, to be known as 

3 the ‘University Nuclear Leadership Program’. 

4 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), amounts made available to carry out the 

7 Program shall be used to provide financial assistance 

8 for scholarships, fellowships, and research and devel9 opment projects at institutions of higher education in 

10 areas relevant to the programmatic mission of the ap11 plicable Federal agency providing the financial as12 sistance with respect to research, development, dem13 onstration, and deployment activities for technologies 

14 relevant to advanced nuclear reactors, including rel15 evant fuel cycle technologies. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

17 (1), amounts made available to carry out the Pro18 gram may be used to provide financial assistance for 

19 a scholarship, fellowship, or multiyear research and 

20 development project that does not align directly with 

21 a programmatic mission of the applicable Federal 

22 agency providing the financial assistance, if the activ23 ity for which assistance is provided would facilitate 

24 the maintenance of the discipline of nuclear science or 

25 nuclear engineering. 


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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Program 

3 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter— 

4 ‘‘(1) $30,000,000 to the Secretary of Energy, of 

5 which $15,000,000 shall be for use by the Adminis6 trator of the National Nuclear Security Administra7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(2) $15,000,000 to the Nuclear Regulatory Com9 mission.’’. 


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Calendar No. 217 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 903 

[Report No. 116–114] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish adclear reactor concepts, and for other purposes. development, and demonstration of advanced nu- high-assay, low-enriched uranium for research, actor-based fast neutron source, make available vanced nuclear goals, provide for a versatile, reSEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Reported with an amendment 


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