DOE announces partnerships for AI data centers and energy infrastructure at Paducah site

The Department of Energy has announced two partnership agreements aimed at building AI data centers alongside energy infrastructure at Department of Energy sites. The announcements frame the effort as a way to redevelop existing DOE property to support new energy and data center loads.

The first announcement this week includes a partnership intended to redevelop parts of the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a data center campus with energy infrastructure. The scope described focuses on site redevelopment and the combination of computing facilities with associated power and energy systems.

DOE’s approach links private-sector participation with DOE site use, reflecting how new electricity-intensive facilities can drive additional demand for power services and supporting infrastructure. For supply-chain planners, the key operational implication is that construction and integration work for energy and data center systems may require coordination with site access, utilities, and long-term site services typical of legacy DOE locations.

Although the news is not about reactor construction or nuclear fuel-cycle projects, it is relevant for non-nuclear facility procurement planning at DOE sites. Redevelopment of former industrial infrastructure can affect permitting workflows, mobilization and staging assumptions, and the sourcing of materials and equipment needed to connect new loads to energy infrastructure.

A second DOE partnership agreement was also announced as part of the same initiative, indicating multiple locations are being pursued for AI data center–linked infrastructure development. The public information provided emphasizes partnership structures and redevelopment goals rather than detailed engineering scope or timelines for specific construction packages.

DOE announced two partnership agreements for AI data centers combined with energy infrastructure at DOE sites.
One partnership this week targets redeveloping parts of the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a data center campus with energy infrastructure.
The initiative may influence procurement and coordination needs tied to site services and energy integration at a DOE legacy location.

ITER vacuum vessel sector modules continue to be installed in the tokamak pit

Vacuum vessel fabrication and module build

ITER’s plasma chamber, the vacuum vessel, is the structure that houses fusion reactions and serves as a first safety containment barrier. With an interior volume of 1,400 cubic metres, the chamber will be formed from nine wedge-shaped steel sectors measuring more than 14 metres in height and weighing 440 tonnes each. When assembled, the ITER vacuum vessel is described as having an outer diameter of 19.4 metres, a height of 11.4 metres, and an approximate weight of 5,200 tonnes. After installation of in-vessel components including the blanket and the divertor, the vacuum vessel total weight is stated as 8,500 tonnes. Each sector module includes a vacuum vessel sector, two toroidal field coils, thermal shields, and auxiliary components, with lifting equipment and stabilising beams attached for the lift operation.

Core sector-module installation progress

The fabrication of the vacuum vessel sectors is shared between Europe (five sectors) and South Korea (four sectors). South Korea’s initial responsibility covered producing two vacuum vessel sectors, and an additional agreement in 2016 extended its scope to produce two more sectors originally assigned to the EU. Sector modules that make up the ITER core have been progressively installed within the tokamak pit since April 2025. The sixth tokamak sector module, #1, weighing about 1,100 tonnes, was transferred from the Assembly Hall and lowered into the pit in a coordinated lifting operation that mobilised more than 100 people, took 30 hours, and concluded on 28 July. The suspended load, including its lifting rig, is described as nearly 1,400 tonnes. The latest sector installation is said to bring two-thirds of the torus-shaped core into place. With sector module #1 now complete, it joins the five others already in the tokamak pit: #4, #5, #6, #7 and #8.

Schedule outlook for remaining modules and torus joining

ITER states that it is on track to install the final sector module in mid-2027, with teams continuing to identify opportunities for further schedule optimisation. The project says it expects a seventh sector module to be transferred before the end of the year. Once all nine sector modules are positioned in the pit, teams will proceed with the work of joining the sectors to complete the torus.

ARC signs multiyear INL framework for ARC-100 first deployment

ARC Clean Technology announced that it has entered into a Strategic Partnership Project agreement with Battelle Energy Alliance, identified as the management and operating contractor of Idaho National Laboratory. The agreement sets out a multiyear framework for collaboration between ARC and INL.

Under the framework, the parties will work on the design, demonstration, and first deployment of ARC-100, which ARC describes as a 100-MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor.

The arrangement is positioned as an early partnership model for a first-of-a-kind reactor effort, spanning multiple phases from design through demonstration and initial deployment. For supply-chain and procurement stakeholders, the announcement signals an organized interface between the reactor developer and INL’s operational leadership during the run-up to first deployment.

As the work proceeds under the Strategic Partnership Project agreement, the collaboration scope described by ARC centers on technical development and the pathway to initial deployment of the ARC-100 unit.