Left: Nuclear projects in Tennessee can benefit from the state’s Nuclear Energy Fund Source: ANS


The third section is called Zone 1, which is the area immediately surrounding the Main Plant and K-31 and K-33 areas. EM and Oak Ridge Environmental Management (OREM) aim to deal with Zone 1 groundwater by 2030 and the remaining ecology, surface water, and sediment by 2032. More than 1800 acres (727 ha), along with major site


infrastructure, have been transferred for economic development and a further 900 acres (363 ha) is set for transfer. Another 3000 acres (1212 ha) have been placed in a conservation easement that is open to the public for recreational use, with 100 (40 ha) acres for historic preservation efforts as part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.


Economic development By June 2024 ETTP could claim more than 20 businesses were operating at the site. Nuclear projects in Tennessee can benefit from the


state’s Nuclear Energy Fund, an initiative that helps nuclear- related businesses establish or expand operations in the state. What was initially a $50m fund was created in 2023 by Governor Bill Lee. The fund was increased by $10m in Fiscal Year 2025 and another $10 million in Fiscal Year 2026. A separate $50m fund will support TVA’s Clinch River SMR project. The fund has the support of the state legislature, which highlighted its effect as an industrial booster. The state said that nuclear companies awarded grants from this fund have committed to investing over $4.7bn and created nearly 700 new jobs in Tennessee (see table 1 overleaf). A 2025 report by the Center For Economic Research In


Tennessee also highlighted indirect financial support to further boost investment in the region. That includes the Zero Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit, launched in 2022, which offers 0.3 cents per kWh for nuclear electricity sold to others. Nuclear plant owners can also use tax-free Decommissioning Reserve Funds for future cleanup costs. Additionally, uranium miners qualify for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, since uranium is considered a critical mineral. A major focus for investment in the area is the nuclear fuel cycle. In the last three years six companies have set up shop or expanded in ETTP.


March 2022: Ultra-Safe Nuclear Corporation In 2022 Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) announced it would site its Pilot Fuel Manufacturing (PFM) operation in ETTP. At that time, privately funded USNC had invested more than $12m into the PFM facility. “Proximity to ORNL and Y-12, as well as access to east Tennessee’s highly skilled and


motivated nuclear workforce, was a key consideration in our site selection,” said Kurt Terrani, executive vice president of USNC’s Core Division. The project was on the former site of the Manhattan


Project’s K-25 gaseous diffusion plant. USNC purchased the 8.7 acre (3.5 ha) site with a pre-existing industrial building. The company planned to commission and operate the production-scale modules involved in manufacturing TRISO fuel particles and its own ‘fully ceramic micro-encapsulated fuel’.


The PFM was opened in August 2022 as planned, to


produce the first fuel for testing and qualification for use in the Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) , a high-temperature gas- cooled plant designed to operate at various power levels from 10 MWt (3.3 MWe) to 45 MWt (15 MWe) fuelled with either high-assay low-enriched uranium or enhanced low enriched uranium (LEU+). In December 2023, USNC signed an agreement with


France’s Framatome to establish a joint venture to provide fuel for the MMR and other advanced reactor designs. However, in October 2024 USNC filed for bankruptcy


protection and announced plans to sell the company, after the death of a key backer, Richard Hollis Helms, who had invested about $100m in the venture and provided another $25m in loans. Kurt Terrani, interim chief executive, said company had been seeking to raise further funds since 2022 but had struggled to secure an “anchor investor”. UNSC says that, during the sale proceedings, it will


maintain full operational continuity across its projects, including fuel production. USNC also announced that it had entered into an asset


purchase agreement with Standard Nuclear Inc for its fuel-related assets and technology development contracts. Standard Nuclear will acquire the assets for $28m if there is no other bidder.


October 2022: TRISO-X X-Energy broke ground on a new fuel fabrication plant in October 2022. The TX-1 facility will have an estimated output of 5t of uranium, or 700,000 TRISO pebbles, per year. The company said this would be enough fuel for up to 11 Xe-100 reactors. Initially it was planned to begin commissioning as soon


as 2025. That has slipped, but TX-1 was reported this year to say that it would be “the first Category 2 Fuel Fabrication Facility licensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the United States,” adding that it “continues to engage closely with the NRC to support an efficient and thorough review and anticipates regulatory approval by May 2026.”


www.neimagazine.com | October 2025 | 39


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