NAC International Selected to Join Energy Department HALEU Consortium

NAC’s OPTIMUS-L Expected to Transport HALEU in Early 2024

NAC International, a leading supplier of transportation, storage, and consulting solutions for the nuclear energy industry, has been selected to become a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (HALEU) Consortium. The HALEU Consortium was created to provide DOE with insights and advice on securing a domestic supply of HALEU, the fuel used by many next-generation nuclear plant and fuel designs.

There is today a limited domestic supply of HALEU, and this could hamper the deployment of advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors. Members of the HALEU Consortium, which comprise high-level representatives of U.S. nuclear energy companies, are charged with providing DOE with estimates on domestic HALEU use, purchasing HALEU made available by the program, and implementing demonstration projects using HALEU.

NAC has designed its OPTIMUS-L packaging systems as a versatile, cost-effective solution for transporting HALEU, as well as a wide variety of other low-activity high-assay materials. NAC expects to make its first HALEU shipment in an OPTIMUS-L system in the first quarter of 2024. The company has also developed an OPTIMUS-H packaging system designed to transport used nuclear fuel and other high-activity contents. 

NAC President and CEO Kent Cole said: “NAC is proud to serve on the Energy Department’s HALEU Consortium and provide our insights on how to support the development of next-generation nuclear facilities and fuel in the United States. As a trusted supplier of transportation, storage, and consulting services, we are pleased to play our part in helping DOE and the industry secure a supply of HALEU to power carbon-free energy sources for the future.”