Production Modernization (2020 Presidential transition)

Book 2 - Issue Papers
Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has undertaken a major modernization of the Nuclear Security Enterprise’s production infrastructure.

Issue(s)

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) cannot accomplish its mission to sustain the nuclear deterrent without reliable infrastructure that provides necessary capabilities for today and allows for the opportunity to expand future capacities. Modernization investments cannot be deferred as the NNSA is committed to fulfilling current requirements for stockpile stewardship. The Production Modernization program focuses on the NNSA’s ability to produce critical components for nuclear weapons, including primaries, canned subassemblies (multiple components and materials), radiation cases, and non-nuclear components. Production Modernization is broken into four component subprogram areas:

(1) Primary Capability Modernization;
(2) Secondary Capability Modernization;
(3) Tritium Modernization and Domestic Uranium Enrichment; and
(4) Non-Nuclear Capability Modernization.

The program supports production modernization and qualification of explosive, pyrotechnic, and propellant materials; modernization of uranium operations, ensuring delivery of secondary components needed to maintain the stockpile; restarts and modernizes lapsed depleted uranium (DU) alloying and component manufacturing capabilities; maintains production of the Nation’s enriched lithium supply; operates the national capability for producing tritium, and is building additional capacity to meet national security requirements; and provides funding to modernize production of non-nuclear components for multiple weapon systems.

Status

A key priority for production modernization activities is developing the capability to produce 80 pits per year (ppy) during 2030, consistent with federal law, national policy, and DoD requirements. Pits will be produced at two locations:

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the
Savannah River Site (SRS).

The FY 2021 Request supports pit production personnel and capabilities necessary to produce War Reserve pits starting in 2025 at LANL; production activities at Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC); certification activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); and design, long lead material procurements, and planning for demolition and equipment removal at SRS. Production Modernization investments also support other key production capability modernization activities for strategic materials and non-nuclear components. These efforts are all critically linked to investments in repairing, replacing, and modernizing NNSA’s facilities and stabilizing deferred maintenance to ensure the safety and reliability of the specialized infrastructure and equipment needed to provide capabilities that support the Nation’s nuclear deterrent.

Milestone(s)

Over the next six years, Production Modernization plans to reach the following milestones:

Build and certify plutonium pits to meet the First Production Unit (FPU) War Reserve pit and continue to sustain pit production to achieve 10 ppy then 30 ppy.
Transition casting, salvage and accountability, and other operations to the newly constructed Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at Y-12.
Obtain CD-2/3 approval for the Energetics Material Characterization (EMC) capability.
Coordinate with Holston Army Ammunition Plant on producing the first war reserve production lot of PBX-9502 for the W80-4 using newly synthesized TATB. This war reserve (WR) PBX9502 culminates a multi-year effort with Holston Army Ammunition Plant to reconstitute the production of Insensitive High Explosives (IHE) for main charge production.
Initiate start up activities at High Explosive Synthesis, Formulation, and Production Facility (HESFP) for LX-17 production in support of the W87-1.
Obtain WR production of W87-1 booster and main charge materials.
Complete installation of DUF6 to DUF4 conversion line and begin production.
Re-start conversion of DUF4 to metal capability at commercial vendor.
Achieve CD-1 in FY 2024 for re-establishing a domestic uranium enrichment capability.

Major Decisions and Events

Successfully produced five development (DEV) pits in FY 2019 and produced 3 process prove-in (PPI) pits in FY 2020.
Install equipment to produce the first WR pit during 2023 in PF-4.
Achieved CD-0 approval in FY 2020 for the Energetic Materials Capability Facility, with continued support for Analysis of Alternatives activities.
Completed Lithium Processing Facility CD-1 package and transitioned to preliminary design activities.
Established Non-Nuclear Capability Modernization as a new program for FY 2021.

Background

The Department of Energy (DOE)/NNSA is focused on manufacturing nuclear weapons components of strategic interest that need to be replaced. These key components—including primaries, secondaries, and radiation cases—are critical to weapon performance, and their manufacture is tightly controlled. Production of these components and the materials needed to construct them was reduced or stopped during the 1990s when they were no longer required. Conducting LEPs and a greater emphasis on a responsive manufacturing infrastructure now require restoring or increasing the capacity of these material and component capabilities, necessitating new methods and approaches to provide sufficient throughput and efficiency. These strategic components require the availability of materials and subcomponent streams that are managed by DOE/NNSA and need to be tightly coordinated with component production.

Primary Capability Modernization

The Primary Capability Modernization program consolidates management of nuclear material processing capabilities in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE). The program includes Plutonium Modernization as well as High Explosives and Energetics Modernization. Current priorities include producing the first war reserve plutonium pit during 2023, 30 pits per year (ppy) during 2026, and restoring national capability to produce 80 plutonium pits per year (ppy) during 2030. The High Explosives and Energetics Modernization program manages investments to modernize the HE and energetic manufacturing process that has atrophied over the history of nuclear weapons production.3

Secondary Capability Modernization

The Secondary Capability Modernization program is responsible for ensuring the availability of strategic materials and other sub-component streams necessary for the secondary stage, as well as modernizing the facilities and operations required to process these materials, fabricate them into parts, and assemble the final components.

The program includes

Uranium Modernization;
Depleted Uranium Modernization; and
Lithium Modernization

Parts of the uranium operations infrastructure no longer meet modern nuclear safety and security standards. The Secondary Capability Modernization program focus specifically on decreasing mission dependency on these legacy sites and transitioning these capabilities to modern, secure, and safe facilities. Transitioning to modern facilities shortens production schedules; reduces risk and cost; and improves manufacturing processes for nuclear weapons materials. The Secondary Capability Modernization program also restarts the depleted uranium (DU) capabilities that lapsed in the early 2000s due to low demand signals and de-prioritization. The program is investing in key new technologies to modernize production of DU and ensure that the capability can remain cost-effective and efficient when meeting future demands. Lithium Modernization program supports technology maturation and process improvements that make lithium processing more efficient, safer to workers, and less impactful to surrounding infrastructure. The current lithium operations facility and its processes are oversized for today’s mission, do not meet current codes/standards, and is well beyond its designed operational life. The program ensures the current lithium processing capability is sustained until the Lithium Processing Facility (LPF) becomes operational in the 2030s, and is developing the plan to bridge operations from the current facility to LPF.

Tritium Modernization and Domestic Uranium Enrichment

The Tritium Modernization and Domestic Uranium Enrichment (DUE) program produces, recovers, and recycles tritium to support national security requirements, and is responsible for establishing a reliable supply of enriched uranium to support U.S. national security and nonproliferation needs. Tritium is recovered from gas transfer systems, purified, and returned to the pipeline for future use at the Savannah River Site. The DUE program preserves and advances uranium enrichment technology to meet U.S. national security needs by down-blending highly-enriched uranium declared excess to national security needs to provide low enriched uranium (LEU) for tritium production. LEU inventories identified by the DUE program will sustain tritium production through 2041, at which point the U.S. will require a new domestic uranium enrichment capability to meet tritium production and other national security needs.

Non-Nuclear Capability Modernization

The Non-Nuclear Capability Modernization program manages strategic investments to modernize capabilities for design, qualification, and production of non-nuclear components for multiple weapon systems of non-nuclear parts. Non-nuclear components and subsystems make up more than half the cost of each life extension program. The program focuses on improving and/ or increasing the capability and capacity of the NSE to manufacture nuclear weapons components such as neutron generators, electronic assemblies, gas transfer systems, and power sources. The NonNuclear Capability Modernization program supports efforts to identify and rectify supply issues such as obsolescence, discontinuation, or scarceness that affect component availability over time.