Presolicitation
RFI U-10Mo Fuel Fabrication
Department of Energy · Sol. 0000966967
Due in 72 days
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
Battelle, which runs Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the Department of Energy, is asking industry whether it could make uranium-molybdenum (U-10Mo) nuclear research reactor fuel for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). This is a Request for Information, not a bid request; companies reply with a letter of interest by 21 December 2026. The work would need a licensed nuclear materials facility, with the government supplying the uranium and possibly major equipment.
Watch out for
- Needs a licensed nuclear facility. Respondents must have or plan a Category II special nuclear material facility, which takes major licensing, capital and time that few small businesses have.
Category II Special Nuclear Material (SNM) facility or Department of Energy Hazard
- Large scale operation. The concept assumes about 25,000 sq ft of floor space, a roughly 30 ft high bay, about 45 staff, and about 10,000 plates and 200 elements per year.
will consume 3,000 to 3,500 kg of HALEU metal a year.
- Long timeline and no award yet. This is only market research, and actual supplier development is not expected to start until the late 2020s.
NNSA anticipates moving forward with supplier development
- Requirements may change. The government warns that technical details in its answers are not final.
please note that technical requirements may change prior
Read from the notice and 2 attachments.
- Technical Questions - Repsonse - RFI-966967 - 10-1-2026.pdf
- RFI for U-10Mo Monolithic Fuel Fabrication Final.pdf
Full brief
What they want
- Letters of interest from companies able to make U-10Mo alloy, fuel plates and fuel assemblies (alloy plus plates and assemblies in one facility is preferred)
- Facilities that are, or could become, an NRC Category II Special Nuclear Material facility or DOE Hazard Category III facility
- Rough timeline and order-of-magnitude cost for developing the facility, assuming NNSA provides major equipment
- Experience with nuclear material handling and fuel fabrication, and a plan for NQA-1 (nuclear quality assurance) or equivalent
- Safety, security, criticality, environmental and radiological program descriptions
- Team arrangements are welcome (for example casting, rolling, HIP, radioactive material handling)
- Contract type
- Request for Information (market research); no contract is being awarded
- Period of performance
- Not stated. The need is expected to exceed existing capacity in the mid-2030s, with supplier development starting in the late 2020s
- Place of performance
- Richland, WA is listed for the RFI; the fabrication facility would be the respondent's own
- Estimated value
- No contract value. The RFI estimates the annual U-10Mo fuel market at about $100-$175M per year (preliminary)
- How they'll choose
- Not stated; information-gathering only
- Offers due
- 2026-12-21 4:00 PM Pacific (letters of interest)
- How to submit
- Written letter of interest; the notice does not name a portal. Questions go to Chris Martin, Contracting Specialist, Christopher.martin@pnnl.gov, 509-372-6026
- Page limits
- Less than 20 pages
What to include when you submit
- Mark proprietary information as needed; reviewers include NNSA/DOE and its FFRDC contractors
- Second round of questions due to Battelle by 12 November 2026, answers by 19 November 2026
- Include organization name, address, contact, year established, ownership and locations
- Include a Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) plan, including export control, if applicable
- Note any transportation needed to distant facilities
You must have
- A facility that is an NRC Category II Special Nuclear Material facility or a DOE Hazard Category III facility
Category II Special Nuclear Material (SNM) facility or Department of Energy Hazard
- Quality assurance experience meeting NQA-1 nuclear quality requirements or equivalent
meeting Nuclear Quality Assurance NQA-1 requirements
- Experience in nuclear material handling and fabrication (research or power reactor fuel preferred)
- Nuclear material control, criticality safety, physical and cyber security, environmental, radiological and worker-safety programs
- US businesses preferred; foreign-owned firms need a plan to address Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence
Not in the notice text
- How letters of interest are to be submitted (email address or portal is not stated)
- Specification SPC-70872 (U-10Mo fuel fabrication) is referenced and was said to be attached but is not in the text provided
- Contract type, contract length, and whether any procurement will follow
- Whether any set-aside will be used later
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Key facts
- Response due
- Dec 22, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 9, 2026
- Notice type
- Presolicitation
- Solicitation
- 0000966967
- Agency
- Department of Energy
- Office
- PNNL Contracts - DOE Contractor
- Set-aside
- No Set aside used
- NAICS
- 325180
- Product/service code
- 1140
- Business type
- Manufactured parts & equipment
- Place of performance
- Richland, WA
- Contracting contact
- Chris Martinchristopher.martin@pnnl.gov5093726026
- Versions
- 2 (amended since first posted)
What similar contracts paid
17 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 53% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$19.5MMiddle half: $395K to $288M
Typical per year$19.5MValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Battelle is requesting information in regard to the fabrication of U-10Mo as noted in the attached Request for Information (RFI) document. The information to be provided is noted in Section 4, Request for Information Tasks, RFI document. Please note that Battelle will be compiling any and all questions submitted in response to the RFI and providing feedback as noted in Section 5, RFI Schedule, of the RFI document. Please feel free to contact me directly if there are any questions in regard to the request. Thanks Chris Martin Contracting Specialist Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Phone: 509-372-6026 E-mail: Christopher.martin@pnnl.gov
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