II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 903 

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, and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Energy Lead3 ership Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF LONG-TERM POWER PUR5 CHASE AGREEMENTS. 

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

7 amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC UTILITY CONTRACTS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) TERM.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A contract 

12 under this paragraph to purchase 

13 electricity from a public utility may be 

14 for a period of not more than 40 

15 years. 

16 ‘‘(II) OTHER PUBLIC UTILITY

17 SERVICES.—A contract under this 

18 paragraph for a public utility service 

19 other than a service described in sub20 clause (I) may be for a period of not 

21 more than 10 years. 

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

23 under this paragraph for any fiscal year 

24 may be paid from the appropriations for 

25 that fiscal year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE AGREE2 MENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the En4 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

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

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

7 AGREEMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish a pilot program for a long-term power purchase agree10 ment. 

11 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the pilot pro12 gram under this section, the Secretary shall— 

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

14 other Federal departments and agencies that may 

15 benefit from purchasing nuclear power for a period 

16 of longer than 10 years, including— 

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

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

19 and 

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

21 into at least 1 agreement to purchase power from a 

22 commercial nuclear reactor that receives a license 

23 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after Jan24 uary 1, 2019. 

25 ‘‘(c) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec2 tion, the Secretary shall give special consideration to 

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

4 early deployment nuclear technologies that can pro5 vide reliable and resilient power to high-value assets 

6 for national security purposes or other purposes as 

7 the Secretary determines to be in the national inter8 est, especially in remote off-grid scenarios or grid9 connected scenarios that can provide capabilities 

10 commonly known as ‘islanding power capabilities’ 

11 during an emergency scenario. 

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

13 purchase power under this section may be at a rate 

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

15 agreement fulfills an applicable consideration de16 scribed in paragraph (1).’’. 

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

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

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

20 to section 639 the following: 

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

21 SEC. 4. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND DE22 VELOPMENT GOALS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En24 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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

2 AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS. 

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

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

5 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

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

7 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 

8 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 

9 (or successor regulations)), with significant im10 provements compared to the most recent gen11 eration of fission reactors, including improve12 ments such as— 

13 ‘‘(i) additional inherent safety fea14 tures; 

15 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

16 ‘‘(iii) improved fuel performance; 

17 ‘‘(iv) increased tolerance to loss of 

18 fuel cooling; 

19 ‘‘(v) enhanced reliability; 

20 ‘‘(vi) increased proliferation resist21 ance; 

22 ‘‘(vii) increased thermal efficiency; 

23 ‘‘(viii) reduced consumption of cooling 

24 water; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) the ability to integrate into elec2 tric applications and nonelectric applica3 tions; 

4 ‘‘(x) modular sizes to allow for deploy5 ment that corresponds with the demand 

6 for electricity; or 

7 ‘‘(xi) operational flexibility to respond 

8 to changes in demand for electricity and to 

9 complement integration with intermittent 

10 renewable energy; and 

11 ‘‘(B) a fusion reactor. 

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

13 ‘demonstration project’ means an advanced nuclear 

14 reactor operated— 

15 ‘‘(A) as part of the power generation facili16 ties of an electric utility system; or 

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

18 of demonstrating the suitability for commercial 

19 application of the advanced nuclear reactor. 

20 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to di21 rect the Secretary, as soon as practicable after the date 

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

23 development of domestic advanced, affordable, and clean 

24 nuclear energy by— 


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1 ‘‘(1) demonstrating different advanced nuclear 

2 reactor technologies that could be used by the pri3 vate sector to produce— 

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

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

6 ‘‘(B) heat for community heating, indus7 trial purposes, or synthetic fuel production; 

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

9 ‘‘(D) backup or mission-critical power sup10 plies; 

11 ‘‘(2) developing subgoals for nuclear energy re12 search programs that would accomplish the goals of 

13 the demonstration projects carried out under sub14 section (c); 

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

16 sector is unable or unwilling to undertake due to the 

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

18 ‘‘(4) facilitating the access of the private sec19 tor— 

20 ‘‘(A) to Federal research facilities and per21 sonnel; and 

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

23 civil nuclear technology funded by the Federal 

24 Government. 

25 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 


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

2 maximum extent practicable— 

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

4 nuclear reactor demonstration projects by not 

5 later than December 31, 2025; and 

6 ‘‘(B) establish a program to demonstrate 

7 not fewer than 2, and not more than 5, addi8 tional operational advanced reactor designs by 

9 not later than December 31, 2035. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out dem11 onstration projects under paragraph (1), the Sec12 retary shall— 

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

14 advanced nuclear reactors demonstrated under 

15 this section, including designs using various— 

16 ‘‘(i) primary coolants; 

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

18 ‘‘(iii) neutron spectra; 

19 ‘‘(B) seek to ensure that— 

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

21 heat for each design to be demonstrated 

22 under this subsection is cost-competitive in 

23 the applicable market; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the selected projects can meet 

25 the deadline established in paragraph (1) 


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1 to demonstrate first-of-a-kind advanced 

2 nuclear reactor technologies, for which ad3 ditional information shall be considered, in4 cluding— 

5 ‘‘(I) the technology readiness 

6 level of a proposed advanced nuclear 

7 reactor technology; 

8 ‘‘(II) the technical abilities and 

9 qualifications of teams desiring to 

10 partner with the Department to dem11 onstrate a proposed advanced nuclear 

12 reactor technology; and 

13 ‘‘(III) the capacity to meet cost14 share requirements of the Depart15 ment; 

16 ‘‘(C) ensure that each evaluation of can17 didate technologies for the demonstration 

18 projects is completed through an external re19 view of proposed designs, which review shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) be conducted by a panel that in21 cludes not fewer than 1 representative of 

22 each of— 

23 ‘‘(I) an electric utility; and 

24 ‘‘(II) an entity that uses high25 temperature process heat for manuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S903.IS S903

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1 facturing or industrial processing, 

2 such as a petrochemical company, a 

3 manufacturer of metals, or a manu4 facturer of concrete; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) include a review of cost-competi6 tiveness and other value streams, together 

7 with the technology readiness level, of each 

8 design to be demonstrated under this sub9 section; 

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

11 with partners in accordance with section 988 

12 for the conduct of activities relating to the re13 search, development, and demonstration of pri14 vate-sector advanced nuclear reactor designs 

15 under the program; 

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

17 identify potential sites, including Department18 owned sites, for demonstrations, as appropriate; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(F) align specific activities carried out 

21 under demonstration projects carried out under 

22 this subsection with priorities identified through 

23 direct consultations between— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Department; 

25 ‘‘(ii) National Laboratories; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) institutions of higher education; 

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

3 electric utilities); 

4 ‘‘(v) potential end-users of new tech5 nologies (such as users of high-tempera6 ture process heat for manufacturing proc7 essing, including petrochemical companies, 

8 manufacturers of metals, or manufacturers 

9 of concrete); and 

10 ‘‘(vi) developers of advanced nuclear 

11 reactor technology. 

12 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In car13 rying out demonstration projects under paragraph 

14 (1), the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) identify candidate technologies that— 

16 ‘‘(i) are not developed sufficiently for 

17 demonstration within the initial required 

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

19 but 

20 ‘‘(ii) could be demonstrated within the 

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

22 ‘‘(B) identify technical challenges to the 

23 candidate technologies identified in subpara24 graph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(C) support near-term research and devel2 opment to address the highest-risk technical 

3 challenges to the successful demonstration of a 

4 selected advanced reactor technology, in accord5 ance with— 

6 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (B); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the research and development ac8 tivities under section 958; 

9 ‘‘(D) establish such technology advisory 

10 working groups as the Secretary determines to 

11 be appropriate to advise the Secretary regard12 ing the technical challenges identified under 

13 subparagraph (B) and the scope of research 

14 and development programs to address the chal15 lenges, in accordance with subparagraph (C), to 

16 be comprised of— 

17 ‘‘(i) private-sector advanced nuclear 

18 reactor technology developers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) technical experts with respect to 

20 the relevant technologies at institutions of 

21 higher education; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) technical experts at the National 

23 Laboratories. 

24 ‘‘(d) GOALS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish goals for research relating to advanced nuclear 

3 reactors facilitated by the Department that support 

4 the objectives of the program for demonstration 

5 projects established under subsection (c). 

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

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

8 on an ongoing basis, with members of private indus9 try to advance the demonstration of various designs 

10 of advanced nuclear reactors. 

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

12 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(A) research activities facilitated by the 

15 Department to meet the goals developed under 

16 this subsection are focused on key areas of nu17 clear research and deployment ranging from 

18 basic science to full-design development, safety 

19 evaluation, and licensing; 

20 ‘‘(B) research programs designed to meet 

21 the goals emphasize— 

22 ‘‘(i) resolving materials challenges re23 lating to extreme environments, including 

24 extremely high levels of— 

25 ‘‘(I) radiation fluence; 


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1 ‘‘(II) temperature; 

2 ‘‘(III) pressure; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) corrosion; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) qualification of advanced fuels; 

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

6 near-term challenges in modeling and simula7 tion to enable accelerated design and licensing; 

8 ‘‘(D) related technologies, such as tech9 nologies to manage, reduce, or reuse nuclear 

10 waste, are developed; 

11 ‘‘(E) nuclear research infrastructure is 

12 maintained or constructed, such as— 

13 ‘‘(i) currently operational research re14 actors at the National Laboratories and in15 stitutions of higher education; 

16 ‘‘(ii) hot cell research facilities; 

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

18 and 

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

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

21 coolant physics and chemistry is improved; 

22 ‘‘(G) advanced sensors and control systems 

23 are developed; and 

24 ‘‘(H) advanced manufacturing and ad25 vanced construction techniques and materials 


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1 are investigated to reduce the cost of advanced 

2 nuclear reactors.’’. 

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

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

5 Stat. 594) is amended— 

6 (1) in the item relating to section 917, by strik7 ing ‘‘Efficiency’’; 

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

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

10 it appears; and 

11 (3) by inserting after the item relating to sec12 tion 959 the following: 

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

13 SEC. 5. NUCLEAR ENERGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En15 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) (as 

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

17 end the following: 

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

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

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

21 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re22 sources of the Senate and the Committees on Energy and 

23 Commerce and Science, Space, and Technology of the 

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


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1 Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department, in accord2 ance with this section. 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

5 this section shall designate— 

6 ‘‘(A) programs that support the planned 

7 accomplishment of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the goals established under sec9 tion 959A; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the demonstration programs 

11 identified under subsection (c) of that sec12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(B) programs that— 

14 ‘‘(i) do not support the planned ac15 complishment of demonstration programs, 

16 or the goals, referred to in subparagraph 

17 (A); but 

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

19 the Office of Nuclear Energy, as deter20 mined by the Secretary. 

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

22 strategic plan under this section, the Secretary shall 

23 specify expected timelines for, as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the accomplishment of relevant objec2 tives under current programs of the Depart3 ment; or 

4 ‘‘(B) the commencement of new programs 

5 to accomplish those objectives. 

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

7 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

8 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

9 Committees on Energy and Commerce and Science, Space, 

10 and Technology of the House of Representatives an up11 dated 10-year strategic plan in accordance with subsection 

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

13 any major deviation from a previous strategic plan sub14 mitted under this section.’’. 

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

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

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

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

19 following: 

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

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

21 SOURCE. 

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

23 (42 U.S.C. 16275(c)(1)) is amended— 

24 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘MIS25 SION NEED’’ and inserting ‘‘AUTHORIZATION’’; and 


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

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

3 SEC. 7. ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PROGRAM. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the national security nuclear enterprise, 

6 which supports the nuclear weapons stockpile stew7 ardship and naval reactors functions of the National 

8 Nuclear Security Administration, requires a domes9 tic source of low- and high-enriched uranium in ac10 cordance with legal restrictions regarding foreign ob11 ligations relating to the beginning stage of the nu12 clear fuel cycle; 

13 (2) many domestic advanced nuclear power in14 dustry participants require access to high-assay, low15 enriched uranium fuel for— 

16 (A) initial fuel testing; 

17 (B) operation of demonstration reactors; 

18 and 

19 (C) commercial operation of advanced nu20 clear reactors; 

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

22 domestic uranium enrichment or fuel fabrication ca23 pability exists for uranium fuel enriched to greater 

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


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1 (4) a healthy commercial nuclear fuel cycle ca2 pable of providing higher levels of enriched uranium 

3 would benefit— 

4 (A) the relevant national security functions 

5 of the National Nuclear Security Administra6 tion; and 

7 (B) the domestic advanced nuclear indus8 try of the United States; and 

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

10 low-enriched uranium available from Department of 

11 Energy stockpiles of uranium would allow for initial 

12 fuel testing and demonstration of advanced nuclear 

13 reactor concepts, accelerating— 

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

15 and 

16 (B) the development of— 

17 (i) a market for advanced nuclear re18 actors; and 

19 (ii) a resulting growing commercial 

20 nuclear fuel cycle capability. 

21 (b) AMENDMENT.— 

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

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

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

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 960. ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PRO2 GRAM. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) HALEU TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE.— 

5 The term ‘HALEU transportation package’ means a 

6 transportation package that is suitable for trans7 porting high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

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

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

10 uranium with an assay greater than 5 weight per11 cent, but less than 20 weight percent, of the ura12 nium-235 isotope. 

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

14 ‘high-enriched uranium’ means uranium with an 

15 assay of 20 weight percent or more of the uranium16 235 isotope. 

17 ‘‘(b) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM PRO18 GRAM FOR ADVANCED REACTORS.— 

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

20 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec21 retary shall establish a program to make available 

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

23 for sale, resale, transfer, or lease, for use in com24 mercial or noncommercial advanced nuclear reactors. 

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

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1 lishing that the nuclear fuel that is the subject of 

2 the lease shall remain the property of the Depart3 ment, including with respect to responsibility for the 

4 final disposition of all radioactive waste created by 

5 the irradiation, processing, or purification of any 

6 leased uranium. 

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

8 under this subsection, the Secretary shall make 

9 available— 

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

11 low-enriched uranium containing not less than 

12 2 metric tons of the uranium-235 isotope; and 

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

14 low-enriched uranium containing not less than 

15 10 metric tons of the uranium-235 isotope (as 

16 determined including the quantities of the ura17 nium-235 isotope made available before Decem18 ber 31, 2022). 

19 ‘‘(4) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In car20 rying out the program under this subsection, the 

21 Secretary shall take into consideration options for 

22 providing the high-assay, low-enriched uranium 

23 under this subsection from a stockpile of uranium 

24 owned by the Department (including the National 

25 Nuclear Security Administration), including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) fuel that— 

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

3 end-user; but 

4 ‘‘(ii) has been previously used or fab5 ricated for another purpose; 

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

7 end-user after removing radioactive or other 

8 contaminants that resulted from a previous use 

9 or fabrication of the fuel for research, develop10 ment, demonstration, or deployment activities 

11 of the Department (including activities of the 

12 National Nuclear Security Administration); and 

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

14 stockpile, which can be blended with lower15 assay uranium to become high-assay, low-en16 riched uranium to meet the needs of an end17 user. 

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

19 barter or otherwise sell or transfer uranium in any 

20 form in exchange for services relating to the final 

21 disposition of radioactive waste from uranium that is 

22 the subject of a lease under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.—The program under this sub24 section shall terminate on the earlier of— 

25 ‘‘(A) January 1, 2035; and 


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

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

3 be obtained in the commercial market from do4 mestic suppliers. 

5 ‘‘(c) REPORT.— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec8 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

9 Congress a report that describes actions proposed to 

10 be carried out by the Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(A) under the program under subsection 

12 (b); or 

13 ‘‘(B) otherwise to enable the commercial 

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

15 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION AND STAKEHOLDER

16 INPUT.—In developing the report under this sub17 section, the Secretary shall seek input from— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

19 ‘‘(B) the National Laboratories; 

20 ‘‘(C) institutions of higher education; 

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

22 in the nuclear energy industry; and 

23 ‘‘(E) a diverse group of technology devel24 opers. 


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

2 report under this subsection shall include estimated 

3 costs, budgets, and timeframes for enabling the use 

4 of high-assay, low-enriched uranium. 

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

6 under this subsection shall evaluate— 

7 ‘‘(A) the costs and actions required to es8 tablish and carry out the program under sub9 section (b), including with respect to— 

10 ‘‘(i) proposed preliminary terms for 

11 the sale, resale, transfer, and leasing of 

12 high-assay, low-enriched uranium (includ13 ing guidelines defining the roles and re14 sponsibilities between the Department and 

15 the purchaser, transfer recipient, or les16 see); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the potential to coordinate with 

18 purchasers, transfer recipients, and lessees 

19 regarding— 

20 ‘‘(I) fuel fabrication; and 

21 ‘‘(II) fuel transport; 

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

23 available to provide uranium for the program 

24 under subsection (b); 


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1 ‘‘(C) options to coordinate the program 

2 under subsection (b) with the operation of the 

3 versatile, reactor-based fast neutron source 

4 under section 959A; 

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

6 market to provide materials for advanced nu7 clear reactor fuel; and 

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

9 policy issues that should be addressed to en10 able— 

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

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the establishment of a domestic 

14 industry capable of providing high-assay, 

15 low-enriched uranium for commercial and 

16 noncommercial purposes, including with re17 spect to the needs of— 

18 ‘‘(I) the Department; 

19 ‘‘(II) the Department of Defense; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(III) the National Nuclear Se22 curity Administration. 

23 ‘‘(d) HALEU TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE RE24 SEARCH PROGRAM.— 


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

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec3 retary shall establish a research, development, and 

4 demonstration program under which the Secretary 

5 shall provide grants, on a competitive basis, to es6 tablish the capability to transport high-assay, low7 enriched uranium. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The focus of the pro9 gram under this subsection shall be to establish 1 or 

10 more HALEU transportation packages that can be 

11 certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to 

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

13 various facilities involved in producing or using nu14 clear fuel containing high-assay, low-enriched ura15 nium, such as— 

16 ‘‘(A) enrichment facilities; 

17 ‘‘(B) fuel processing facilities; 

18 ‘‘(C) fuel fabrication facilities; and 

19 ‘‘(D) nuclear reactors.’’. 

20 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con21 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 

22 109–58; 119 Stat. 594) (as amended by section 

23 5(b)) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

24 to section 959B the following: 

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


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1 SEC. 8. UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) nuclear power plants— 

4 (A) generate billions of dollars in national 

5 economic activity through procurements 

6 throughout the United States; and 

7 (B) provide tens of thousands of people in 

8 the United States with high-paying jobs, con9 tributing substantially to the local economies of 

10 the communities in which the plants operate; 

11 (2) the world market for the growth of commer12 cial nuclear power was estimated by the Department 

13 of Commerce to be valued at up to 

14 $740,000,000,000 during the period of calendar 

15 years 2018 through 2028; 

16 (3) the participation and leadership of the 

17 United States in the market described in paragraph 

18 (2) will— 

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

20 United States through robust nuclear exports, 

21 leading to the enhanced economic security of 

22 the United States; and 

23 (ii) preserve and enhance the ability of the 

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1 proliferation standards through commercial en2 gagement with other nations; but 

3 (B) require significant investment in 

4 United States-origin advanced nuclear tech5 nologies; 

6 (4) in order to lead the world in the next gen7 eration of commercial nuclear power, the advanced 

8 nuclear industry in the United States should be posi9 tioned for accelerated growth, which requires public10 private partnerships between industry entities and 

11 the Federal Government; 

12 (5) success in achieving the goals described in 

13 this subsection will require a whole-government Fed14 eral approach that focuses on the shared needs and 

15 individual mission requirements of, at a minimum— 

16 (A) the Department of Energy; 

17 (B) the National Nuclear Security Admin18 istration; and 

19 (C) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

20 (6) advanced reactors present new challenges 

21 and opportunities in reactor design, safeguards, and 

22 regulation; 

23 (7) the challenges referred to in paragraph 

24 (6)— 


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1 (A) are directly relevant to the missions 

2 of— 

3 (i) the Office of Nuclear Energy of 

4 the Department of Energy; 

5 (ii) the National Nuclear Security Ad6 ministration; and 

7 (iii) the Nuclear Regulatory Commis8 sion; and 

9 (B) require a highly skilled workforce in 

10 order to be met; and 

11 (8) nuclear science and engineering programs 

12 at institutions of higher education in the United 

13 States— 

14 (A) annually award degrees in nuclear en15 gineering and related fields to more than 600 

16 undergraduate students, and 500 graduate stu17 dents, who are critical to maintaining United 

18 States leadership in the development of ad19 vanced nuclear systems; 

20 (B) perform cutting-edge research and 

21 technology development activities that have 

22 made fundamental contributions to advancing 

23 United States nuclear technology; and 

24 (C) support workforce development critical 

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1 clear detection, nonproliferation, nuclear medi2 cine, advanced manufacturing, and other non3 energy areas. 

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

5 Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations 

6 Act, 2009 (42 U.S.C. 16274a), is amended to read as fol7 lows: 

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

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

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

11 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

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

13 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 

14 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 

15 (or successor regulations)), with significant im16 provements compared to the most recent gen17 eration of fission reactors, including improve18 ments such as— 

19 ‘‘(i) additional inherent safety fea20 tures; 

21 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

22 ‘‘(iii) improved fuel performance; 

23 ‘‘(iv) increased tolerance to loss of 

24 fuel cooling; 

25 ‘‘(v) enhanced reliability; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) increased proliferation resist2 ance; 

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 

11 for 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.— 

18 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

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

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

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

22 the University Nuclear Leadership Program estab23 lished under subsection (b). 

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

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1 ministration, and the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 

2 Commission shall jointly establish a program, to be known 

3 as 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 

10 in areas relevant to the programmatic mission of the 

11 applicable 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 ac23 tivity for which assistance is provided would facili24 tate the maintenance of the discipline of nuclear 

25 science or nuclear engineering. 


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

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec3 essary to carry out the Program.’’. 

Æ 


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