EM Delivers Nuclear Remediation and Revitalization for American Communities in 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Helping to grow America’s burgeoning nuclear renaissance, advancing infrastructure critical to winning the artificial intelligence (AI) race and safely addressing aging facilities to contribute to the modernization of America’s strategic deterrent — these are just some of the ways the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) helped enable American energy, innovation and security in 2025, according to a new document released today.

“Delivering Nuclear Remediation and Revitalization for American Energy, Security and Innovation” vividly illustrates EM’s cleanup accomplishments over the course of this year. By safely, efficiently and effectively addressing the legacy of American’s nuclear past, EM is advancing DOE’s three-pillared vision for American security, science and energy.

“Over the course of 2025, our team has set a strong foundation for what will be a new chapter of remediation, revitalization and redevelopment,” EM Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh said. “Whether it’s leveraging our skilled workforce, driving innovation, delivering on cleanup or revitalizing land to add advanced nuclear energy to fuel the AI race — there is so much potential to build generational American jobs and make energy more affordable.”

EM’s 2025 highlights include:

• Transferring land at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky to the advanced nuclear firm General Matter to build a new domestic uranium enrichment facility to help fuel the next generation of nuclear power.
• Opening the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative in South Carolina to complement DOE’s mission to support American manufacturing — serving as an economic driver, creating jobs, spurring innovation and maximizing the reach of industry.
• Solidifying Hanford tank waste in glass for the first time, an effort that has taken 25 years and cost $9 billion on the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste system.
• Beginning the demolition of the second of three former uranium enrichment process buildings at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, advancing the site’s overall cleanup and ultimately leading to more land available to local communities for reuse.
• Supporting AI infrastructure development at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee and at the Paducah Site.
• Completing ahead of schedule, and under budget, the construction and commissioning of massive new infrastructure upgrades at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, a critical capability to dispose of transuranic waste to support not only cleanup, but DOE’s ongoing national security and scientific discovery missions.

“As we wrap up 2025, the year ahead offers the opportunity to continue our mission with a renewed sense of urgency and purpose for the American people,” Walsh said. “Based on what we accomplished this year, and the dedication and excellence of the EM team, I look forward to enabling a transition from nuclear remediation to nuclear renaissance in 2026 and beyond.”

Click here to read “Delivering Nuclear Remediation and Revitalization for American Energy, Security and Innovation.”