[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 151 (Monday, August 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44676-44679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12646]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Request for Expressions of Interest in a Consolidated 
Fuel Treatment Center To Support the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

AGENCY: Office of Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of request for expressions of interest.

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SUMMARY: Based upon feedback since the President of the United States 
announced the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) in February 
2006, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking Expressions of 
Interest (EOI) from domestic and international industry in building 
spent nuclear fuel recycling and transmutation fuel fabrication 
capabilities. DOE contemplates locating these capabilities together in 
a Consolidated Fuel Treatment Center (CFTC) and seeks expressions of 
interest from potential domestic host sites. DOE is also seeking to 
define the interest of industry to build upon their proven capabilities 
and participate in demonstrating spent nuclear fuel (SNF) recycling 
technologies that meet GNEP goals. This EOI will help inform DOE's GNEP 
Program as to those issues that industry and potential host sites 
consider important to the ultimate construction of sustainable, 
commercial-scale SNF recycling technologies that meet GNEP objectives. 
The information gained from this EOI will be used to create Requests 
for Proposals (RFP) for the proposed CFTC.

DATES: Interested parties wishing to submit an EOI should do so in 
writing by September 8, 2006, to ensure their input is considered. A 
briefing for respondents to learn about DOE's baseline plan and answer 
EOI-related questions will be held on August 14, 2006, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 
in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The specific meeting location 
will be announced on the GNEP Web site, http://www.gnep.energy.gov. 
Please indicate your interest in attending the briefing by sending an 
e-mail indicating your intent to attend to [email protected]. It is recognized that GNEP is moving forward 
on an aggressive schedule that will task all of the responders' 
abilities to provide quality information in a short period of time. DOE 
believes that GNEP can help to revitalize the U.S. nuclear industry and 
improve its global competitive position. Early participation by 
industry in this effort will greatly maximize GNEP's success.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By postal mail, Mr. John F. Gross, 
Mail Stop: NE-2.4/Germantown, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0119; by phone on 301-903-3918; by e-mail at 
[email protected].

ADDRESSES: Please send all hardcopy Expressions of Interest to Mr. John 
F. Gross, Mail Stop: NE-2.4/Germantown, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119. Electronic 
versions of the Expressions of Interest may be submitted in pdf 
(portable document format) format by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    As part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, DOE has 
launched the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). The broad goals 
of GNEP are described in the Report to Congress--Spent Nuclear Fuel 
Recycling Program Plan issued May 2006, http://www.gnep.energy.gov/pdfs/snfRecyclingProgframPanMay2006.pdf.
    A major element of GNEP is the development and deployment of 
advanced nuclear fuel recycling technologies. In general, advanced 
recycling technologies focus on three operations:
    (1) Separate commercial LWR SNF into its usable and waste 
components.
    Spent nuclear fuel contains uranium, transuranics (plutonium and 
other long-lived radioactive elements), and fission products. The 
fission products are waste and make up less than five percent of the 
used fuel. Buildup of fission products within the fuel inhibits nuclear 
fission reactions so the spent fuel must be replaced with fresh fuel 
for continued operation of a nuclear reactor. The transuranics and 
uranium in SNF would be separated from the fission products and then 
fabricated into new fuel for a fast reactor to consume the transuranics 
and uranium while simultaneously recovering their energy content. The 
SNF recycling program would use advanced separation processes (e.g., 
Uranium Extraction Plus or other comparable processes).
    (2) Fabricate and recycle fast reactor fuel containing transuranic 
elements.
    Fabricating, testing, and qualifying fast reactor fuel containing 
transuranic and actinide elements (i.e., transmutation fuel), obtained 
from recycled spent fast reactor fuel, is required to provide fresh 
fuel for the reactor. After the qualification of transmutation fuel, 
the GNEP facilities would demonstrate recycle of fast

[[Page 44677]]

reactor transmutation fuel and eventually could include the 
construction of a separate transmutation fuel separations and 
fabrication facility.
    (3) Convert transuranics into shorter-lived radioisotopes while 
producing electricity.
    Fast reactors produce high-energy neutrons that can fission long-
lived transuranics, thus converting the transuranics into shorter-lived 
radioisotopes. As the transuranics are consumed, significant energy is 
released that can be used to produce electricity from material that 
would otherwise be considered waste and potentially require disposal in 
a geologic repository.
    The Department initially announced an approach that would 
demonstrate technologies from the laboratory at engineering scale, 
prior to a second phase of commercialization. This initial approach is 
described in the Report to Congress--Spent Nuclear Fuel Recycling 
Program Plan issued May 2006, http://www.gnep.energy.gov/pdfs/snfRecyclingProgframPanMay2006.pdf.
    Following the announcement of the GNEP Program by the President, a 
number of foreign governments and private companies expressed interest 
in cooperating in the near-term with the Department in the development 
and deployment of advanced recycling technologies. Some of these 
entities indicated they are pursuing similar technologies and, in some 
cases, these technologies may be ready for deployment prior to those 
currently under development by the Department. In light of this 
information, DOE seeks to determine the feasibility of accelerating the 
development and deployment of advanced recycling technologies that 
would enable commercial scale demonstrations that meet GNEP objectives. 
These demonstrations would utilize industry expertise to build the 
well-understood stages of advanced technology for the separation of LWR 
SNF, and the construction and operation of a fast reactor, while 
designing in the modules for incorporating group separation of 
actinides, transmutation fuel production, burning, and recycling 
operations.
    This approach would involve two simultaneous tracks: (1) Deployment 
of commercial scale facilities for which advanced technologies are 
available now or in the near future and (2) further research and 
development on transmutation fuels technologies. This two-track 
approach could result in two commercial scale facilities, one of which 
is the subject of this EOI. These facilities are:
     Consolidated Fuel Treatment Center (CFTC; subject of this 
EOI)--a facility to separate the usable uranium and transuranics from 
spent light-water reactor fuel for use in fabricating fast reactor 
fuel. During the second track the CFTC would be augmented or a separate 
transmutation fuel separations and fabrication facility would be 
constructed to separate and fabricate fast reactor transmutation fuel.
     Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR)--fast reactor to use 
transmutation fuel and consume transuranic elements within the fuel and 
generate electricity. The ABR is expected to be qualified with 
conventional fast reactor fuel. Subsequently, the ABR would be used to 
demonstrate the feasibility of recycling fast reactor transmutation 
fuel.
    A third facility, the Advanced Fuel Cycle Facility (AFCF), will be 
designed and directed through DOE's national laboratories and will 
support development of the technologies required to separate and 
fabricate fast reactor transmutation fuel. The AFCF is not currently a 
subject of a Request for Expressions of Interest.

CFTC Characteristics

    DOE prefers to constrain as little as possible this EOI on the fuel 
cycle pathway to meet GNEP goals. Industry's input is valuable in 
considering the ultimate technical and pragmatic configuration of 
GNEP's closed fuel cycle. Some rough parameters for considering the 
ultimate characteristics of a CFTC facility for the GNEP Technology 
Demonstration Program are set out below. They simply illustrate the 
type of information DOE is requesting in this EOI and respondents 
should not interpret the following information as a final decision from 
DOE on the CFTC's characteristics or the overall demonstration program. 
The responses to this EOI may significantly influence subsequent RFPs.

Desired CFTC General Characteristics

    The complete CFTC would be designed to perform several key 
functions in support of GNEP technology development objectives, 
including:
     Separating reusable uranium and transuranics from spent 
light water reactor (LWR) fuel for use in fabricating fast reactor 
driver fuel. (An additional facility designed and directed through a 
DOE national laboratory will support development of the technologies 
required to separate and fabricate fast reactor transmutation fuel, 
i.e., fuel that is fabricated from uranium, plutonium, and other 
transuranics found in LWR spent fuel.)
     Demonstrating the separation of LWR and fast reactor SNF 
into their usable components and the fabrication of transmutation fuel 
from those components.
     Consuming transuranic elements in a fast reactor. See the 
Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR) EOI for a discussion of that element.
     Ensuring that facility designs meet U.S. standards for 
safeguards and security.
    Developing this complete system to support GNEP remains the central 
objective, drawing upon the expertise and capabilities of industry and 
international partners to achieve it. Further,
     The CFTC shall safely and reliably perform its LWR spent 
fuel process storage and separations functions as well as providing 
safe and reliable ABR driver fuel fabrication capabilities. The CFTC 
shall be capable of being licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) and operated in accordance with NRC regulations. The 
CFTC shall incorporate design features and technologies to promote 
reliable system performance during normal operations and in response to 
postulated accident scenarios.
     The CFTC shall demonstrate improved spent fuel separations 
technologies. This shall be accomplished in a process whose end 
products are not pure plutonium or other weapons-grade fissile 
material. The spent fuel separations technology will be further 
enhanced by advanced safeguards and security monitoring technology.
     The CFTC will produce, through spent fuel separations, 
high-purity uranium for reuse as reactor fuel or disposal as low-level 
waste, transuranic fuel feed material for transmutation in a fast 
reactor, and fission products with reduced heat generation and 
radiotoxicity for long-term geologic disposal.
     The CFTC shall be designed such that the future cost of 
spent fuel receipt, separations process, product management, and fuel 
fabrication capabilities can be shown as an efficient component of an 
economical fuel cycle. It is desirable that the material remain 
throughout in as low a category as possible for attractiveness for use 
in a nuclear weapon and for safeguarding purposes.
     The CFTC shall fabricate the driver fuel (i.e., fuel for 
the initial startup core and subsequent refueling of the core in 
advance of the availability of transmutation fuel) for the ABR to 
initially generate power.

[[Page 44678]]

     CFTC technologies shall be capable of commercial 
deployment.

Example of Technical Characteristics of the CFTC

     Process storage capacity: Sufficient storage capacity 
should be included to support full-scale plant operation, including 
storage of spent fuel prior to separations as well as storage of the 
resulting separated material.
     Spent fuel separations throughput: Able to be increased to 
approximately 2,000 to 3,000 metric tons per year to support commercial 
operation.
     Separations technology: UREX+1a where major products 
include high-purity uranium, cesium and strontium, transuranics, spent 
fuel cladding hulls, and fission products. Alternative separation 
technologies with different product streams (e.g., different actinide 
separation efficiencies or distributions) may be proposed.
     Waste disposition strategies: Waste minimization is a 
priority and should focus on reducing radiotoxicity, half-life, heat 
generation, and minimize criticality concerns.
     Fast reactor driver fuel type: Oxide or metal based 
(depends on fuel type selected in related GNEP ABR EOI).

Geographic

     The SNF processing and fuel fabrication operations may be 
collocated with ABR.
     Existing DOE or commercial facilities or new facilities 
may be addressed in the response.

Regulatory

     Must comply with all environmental protection laws and 
regulations.
     Must be capable of being licensed under NRC regulations 
applicable to demonstration operations on privately owned land 
regardless of where the demonstration is sited.

Content of EOI

    The following items identify the information that DOE is requesting 
in this EOI. All respondents are encouraged to provide information 
beyond that requested if it is believed to be beneficial to their 
responses.

1. Level of Interest and Proposed Scope of Interest

    Please describe how you believe DOE could accelerate successful 
demonstration of SNF integrated recycling technologies to advance the 
goals of GNEP. Describe the approach that you believe should be taken 
to accomplish this goal, including its benefits and risks, and describe 
your level of interest or potential participation. Also, provide a 
description of what you believe your approach does to advance the broad 
goals of GNEP (as described, for example, in the Background section). 
In particular, for the CFTC, DOE is interested in:
    a. What LWR spent fuel process storage capabilities, separations 
technology and throughput (initial and final), and fast sodium reactor 
driver fuel fabrication system characteristics would be proposed to 
achieve the CFTC mission?
    b. What set of separations process technologies are sufficiently 
mature to implement immediately and what proposed technologies or 
components require additional developmental work (e.g., advanced 
centrifugal contactors, advanced monitoring instrumentation) to achieve 
the CFTC mission?
    c. What are the key elements of the proposal's product and waste 
management strategies? Are there near-term strategies using existing 
technology as well as long-term strategies for improved waste 
minimization and product form as well as storage and disposition 
technologies envisioned? If so, specify the key elements of future 
improvements, their relative costs and their benefits.
    d. In addition to advanced separation processes, what technology 
development could be pursued to support spent fuel recycling consistent 
with the goals of GNEP?

2. Proposed Roles of Parties Involved

    Please identify who you believe the parties to such a venture 
should include and the role of each party. Parties could include U.S. 
Government and foreign government agencies, state and local government 
agencies, nongovernmental organizations, domestic and foreign 
commercial firms (e.g., Architect & Engineering (A&E) firms, component 
manufacturers, electric utility companies, etc.) or any other entity 
you may identify that fits into your proposed solution. Your statement 
should clearly identify the role each party would play in ensuring the 
success of your proposition, whether direct or indirect. Examples of 
roles include, but are not limited to, providing financing, 
guaranteeing financing, A&E services, construction, facility 
operations, program or project management, regulatory compliance 
support, and hardware vendor. Provide an assessment of the benefit to 
the U.S. Government and GNEP of your proposed parties and their roles. 
Also, provide a description of the benefits that would accrue to each 
of the parties in this venture. Benefits could include, but are not 
limited to, financial gain, intellectual property, market position, 
facilities, education, and advancing policy goals.

3. Resources

    For each entity you have identified in Item 2 above, provide 
specifics describing the resources each party could provide to ensure 
the program's success. These resources may include, but are not limited 
to, financial, existing or new facilities, personnel (include a 
description of the type of personnel, e.g., technical, management, 
regulatory, financial, etc.), intellectual property, and leased 
equipment.

4. Proposed Contractual Vehicle

    Please provide a description of the contractual vehicle(s) you feel 
should be employed in furtherance of your approach. Examples may 
include, but are not limited to, contracts, financial assistance, 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, loan guarantees, other 
transactional arrangements. Please limit your suggestions to those 
contractual authorities already granted to DOE or other government 
agencies you identify.

5. Areas of Technology Development Required for Potential 
Commercialization

    Please identify what technical areas associated with your approach 
would benefit from additional research, development or demonstration 
activities, how and to what extent this research and development (R&D) 
would mitigate technical or technology risk, estimated timeframes to 
accomplish this R&D, parties performing the activities, and other 
technical issues that need to be addressed.

6. Government Furnished Data/Technology/Equipment

    Describe what, if any, government furnished data, technology, or 
equipment you would require to accomplish your defined approach. State 
whether you have any existing rights or license for the use of the data 
or technology, and if not, how you would pursue acquiring such rights.

Confidentiality

    Confidential or business sensitive information contained in the 
submission must be identified and marked accordingly. DOE will protect 
this information from public disclosure to the extent permitted by law.
    This EOI is not a formal solicitation requesting proposals and does 
not represent a commitment by the

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Government to award a contract. The Government does not intend to 
formally respond to information submitted in response to this EOI. The 
Government is not responsible for costs incurred to submit a response 
to this EOI, conducting other activities associated with pre-
solicitation planning, or submitting a proposal in response to a 
solicitation, if issued.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2006.
Dennis R. Spurgeon,
Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.
 [FR Doc. E6-12646 Filed 8-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P