I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8674 

To establish milestone-based development and demonstration projects relating 

to nuclear fuel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2024 

Mr. WILLIAMS of New York (for himself and Mr. SORENSEN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish milestone-based development and demonstration 

projects relating to nuclear fuel, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Milestones for Ad5 vanced Nuclear Fuel Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MILESTONE-BASED DEVELOPMENT AND DEM7 ONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

8 (a) MILESTONE-BASED DEVELOPMENT AND DEM9 ONSTRATION PROGRAM.—The Nuclear Fuel Security Act 

10 of 2023 (enacted as section 3131 of subtitle C of title 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8674 IH

1 XXXI of division C of the National Defense Authorization 

2 Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31)) is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), 

6 and (10) as paragraphs (9), (10), and (11), re7 spectively; and 

8 (B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(8) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na11 tional Laboratory’ has the meaning given such term 

12 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

13 U.S.C. 15801).’’. 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(q) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MILESTONE-BASED

17 DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

19 milestone-based advanced fuel cycle technologies de20 velopment and demonstration projects in accordance 

21 with section 9005 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 

22 U.S.C. 7256c; enacted as part of title IX of division 

23 Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021) in 

24 carrying out the Nuclear Fuel Security Program and 

25 the HALEU for Advanced Nuclear Reactor DemVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Jul 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8674.IH H8674

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8674 IH

1 onstration Projects Program (established pursuant 

2 to subsection (e), and carried out in accordance with 

3 subsections (f) and (h), respectively) in the same 

4 manner and to the same extent as such section 9005 

5 applies to section 846(g) of the Department of En6 ergy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7256(g)). 

7 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—In carrying out milestone8 based advanced fuel cycle technologies development 

9 and demonstration projects referred to in paragraph 

10 (1), the Secretary shall support the development and 

11 demonstration of an economically competitive, nu12 clear fuel supply chain by not later than three years 

13 after the date of the enactment of this subsection 

14 that includes domestic uranium production, conver15 sion, enrichment, deconversion, and waste reduction 

16 for advanced fuels, such as HALEU and other ad17 vanced nuclear reactor fuels, for the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Department research, development, 

19 and demonstration projects for advanced nu20 clear reactors, including civilian research and 

21 experimental reactors. 

22 ‘‘(B) Advanced nuclear reactors. 

23 ‘‘(C) Strategic radioactive and stable iso24 topes producers, such as energy, medical, spaceVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Jul 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8674.IH H8674

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8674 IH

1 based heating and power, and national security 

2 application, and for basic research. 

3 ‘‘(D) Interagency and intra-agency part4 nerships and collaborations, including with the 

5 National Laboratories, the Advanced Research 

6 Projects Agency-Energy, the National Aero7 nautics and Space Administration, the Depart8 ment of Defense, and other relevant Federal 

9 and State departments and agencies, as deter10 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—Any associated entity is eli12 gible to participate in the projects under this sub13 section if the Secretary has determined such entity 

14 has the necessary resources and expertise. In select15 ing eligible associated entities, the Secretary shall 

16 select, to the maximum extent practicable, associated 

17 entities that— 

18 ‘‘(A) prioritize novel technologies and proc19 esses; 

20 ‘‘(B) utilize technologies and processes 

21 that reduce nonproliferation risks; and 

22 ‘‘(C) leverage matching funds from non23 Federal sources. 

24 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out such 

25 projects, the Secretary shall consult with developers 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8674 IH

1 of advanced nuclear reactors and owners and opera2 tors of electric utilities to review proposed technical 

3 and financial milestones and assist in the develop4 ment of such milestones. 

5 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—For the associated entities 

6 selected under this subsection, the following condi7 tions shall apply: 

8 ‘‘(A) Consistent with the existing authori9 ties of the Department, the Secretary may ter10 minate an agreement with a selected associated 

11 entity for cause during the performance period. 

12 ‘‘(B) Support under this subsection may 

13 not be used to cover any costs or reimburse14 ment of expenses that are covered by Federal 

15 funding provided through other support, includ16 ing awards. 

17 ‘‘(6) APPLICATIONS.—A project proposal sub18 mitted under this subsection shall be evaluated 

19 based upon the scientific, technical, and business 

20 merits of such proposal, including consideration of 

21 waste management benefits, through a peer-review 

22 process, which shall include reviewers with appro23 priate expertise from the private sector, electric utili24 ties, the investment community, and nuclear fuel 

25 and supply chain experts. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8674 IH

1 ‘‘(7) PROJECT MANAGEMENT.—In carrying out 

2 projects under this subsection and assessing the 

3 completion of the milestones developed pursuant to 

4 paragraph (4), the Secretary shall consult with nu5 clear fuel and supply experts representing diverse 

6 perspectives and professional experiences, including 

7 developers of advanced nuclear reactor owners and 

8 operators of electric utilities, to ensure a complete 

9 and thorough review. 

10 ‘‘(8) ANNUAL BRIEFING.—As part of the an11 nual budget request submitted for each fiscal year, 

12 the Secretary shall provide the Committee on 

13 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

14 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

15 Natural Resources of the Senate a briefing describ16 ing the selected projects under this subsection dur17 ing the previous fiscal year, the benefits and draw18 backs of milestone-based projects as compared to 

19 traditional project structure funding models, and les20 sons-leaned from project operations.’’. 

21 (b) NUCLEAR FUEL RECYCLING AND VIABILITY TO

22 SUPPORT EXISTING AND FUTURE REACTORS.—Section 

23 953 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16273) 

24 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub25 sections: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 8674 IH

1 ‘‘(c) MILESTONE-BASED DEMONSTRATIONS

2 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall carry out demonstration 

3 projects under this section as a milestone-based dem4 onstration project in the same manner and to the same 

5 extent as under section 9005 of the Energy Act of 2020 

6 (42 U.S.C. 7256c; enacted as part of title IX of division 

7 Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), with pri8 ority placed on awarding milestone-based awards to 

9 projects that increase domestic fabrication and recycling 

10 capacity of spent nuclear fuel for advanced fuels. 

11 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 

13 Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Nu14 clear Energy, shall complete and make publicly available 

15 a study that analyzes the practicability, potential benefits, 

16 including relating to waste reduction through separation 

17 of high- and low-level waste or utilization of transuranic 

18 materials, and estimated lifecycle costs of the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Dedicated recycling facilities, and co-loca20 tion with other nuclear energy infrastructure, that 

21 utilize spent nuclear fuel from existing nuclear reac22 tors and future advanced nuclear reactors into usa23 ble nuclear fuel for the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) Commercial light water reactors. 

25 ‘‘(B) Advanced nuclear reactors. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 8674 IH

1 ‘‘(C) Space-based heating and power. 

2 ‘‘(D) Research reactors. 

3 ‘‘(E) Nuclear battery applications. 

4 ‘‘(F) Such other applications as deter5 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(2) Dedicated recycling facilities, and co-loca7 tion with other nuclear energy infrastructure, to uti8 lize high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) (as 

9 such term is defined in section 2001(d) of the En10 ergy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281(d)), or other 

11 feedstocks, such as uranium and transuranic mate12 rials, into usable nuclear fuel for the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Commercial light water reactors. 

14 ‘‘(B) Advanced nuclear reactors. 

15 ‘‘(C) Space-based power. 

16 ‘‘(D) Research reactors. 

17 ‘‘(E) Nuclear battery applications. 

18 ‘‘(F) Such other applications as deter19 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(3) Utilizing recycled fuel in advanced nuclear 

21 reactors or existing light water reactors as compared 

22 to non-recycled fuel. 

23 ‘‘(4) Dedicated spent nuclear fuel reprocessing 

24 facilities, and co-location with other nuclear energy 

25 infrastructure, to extract certain radioactive and staVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Jul 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8674.IH H8674

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 8674 IH

1 ble isotopes needed for domestic and international 

2 use, including for the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Advanced nuclear reactors. 

4 ‘‘(B) Medical, industrial, space-based 

5 power, and nuclear battery applications. 

6 ‘‘(C) Such other applications as deter7 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(5) Commercial associated entities acquiring 

9 spent fuel from operating or shutdown reactors and 

10 any contract or policy revisions that could better fa11 cilitate such transactions. 

12 ‘‘(6) Private sector associated entities that take 

13 title of spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear 

14 reactor sites for any of the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) Research or reuse. 

16 ‘‘(B) Recycling. 

17 ‘‘(C) Strategic radioactive or stable isotope 

18 extraction. 

19 ‘‘(7) Comprehensive cost-benefit analysis associ20 ated with spent fuel recycling, including consider21 ations of net reduction in spent fuel inventory, sepa22 ration of high- and low-level waste with new storage 

23 requirements, disposal of byproducts from spent fuel 

24 recycling, supply chain impacts, and list of indusVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Jul 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8674.IH H8674

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 8674 IH

1 tries that would benefit from spent fuel recycling by2 products. 

3 ‘‘(8) Policy, legal, or regulatory changes to sup4 port the safe and secure development and deploy5 ment of recycling and waste utilizing reactor tech6 nologies, and any impacts such changes would have 

7 on domestic storage of spent nuclear fuel and dis8 posal through the recycling of spent nuclear fuel.’’. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS