LEAK TEST DEMONSTRATION OF A REPRESENTATIVE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSPORTATION CANISTER

Solicitation No.

RFI-2025-12-09-GP

Notice Type

Sources Sought

Set-Aside

No Set aside used

Posted Date

December 9, 2025

Response Deadline

January 13, 2026

NAICS Code

541380AI guide

PSC / Class Code

8900

Contract Code

8900

Issuing Office

PNNL CONTRACTS - DOE CONTRACTOR

Sub-Agency

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Agency

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Primary Contact

Garrett Prather

City

Richland

State

WA

ZIP Code

99352

AI Product/Service

service

Battelle Pacific Northwest Division, operator of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. DOE (referred to hereafter as “Battelle”), is seeking a Contractor to provide services to perform a leak test demonstration of a representative Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) transportation package. This SOW includes the requirements and details necessary for the procurement of services that will consist of system design, test planning, test execution, and test reporting that will be used in further CSF development activities by U.S. DOE. This test activity supports operations planning for a federal Consolidated Storage Facility (CSF) under Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulation. While helium leakage rate testing is cited in licensing of commercial CSFs to verify the containment boundary of SNF canisters in transport packages, there is no demonstrated history of use. A successful demonstration on a representative system would support the use of helium leakage rate testing on transport packages that experience off-normal transportation conditions. If the helium leakage rate test proves unreliable or impractical, DOE gains time to identify alternative methods to verify canister integrity. During the typical SNF loading sequence, the SNF is loaded into the canister, and the canister lid is installed and welded to the canister body. The canister is then drained of water, evacuated of air, and backfilled with helium, which is used to aid in leak testing of the canister. After leak testing the canister, it is loaded into the overpack, the overpack lid is installed, and the bolts are torqued. The overpack is drained of water, evacuated of air, and backfilled with helium. The backfill of helium in the overpack is expected to offer a technical challenge for performing a helium leakage rate testing on the SNF canister. The backfill helium needs to be removed during the test or else the backfill helium may produce a false positive result for the test. If your company is interested in receiving the Request for Interest documents, please contact Contract Specialist, Garrett Prather, by email at garrett.prather@pnnl.gov.

1. December 9, 2025Posted Date
2. January 13, 2026Proposals / Responses Due