What happened
The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division said Thursday that, after consulting with the Federal Trade Commission, it published approvals for the U.S. Department of Energy Defense Production Act Consortium's updated Voluntary Agreement and related Plans of Action.
The approvals concern agreements among U.S. nuclear energy companies that DOJ said are intended to increase domestic fuel availability, provide greater access to reliable power and reduce the country's reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials.
According to the department, the agreements are aimed at ensuring capacity across the nuclear fuel supply chain, including mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, deconversion, fabrication, recycling and reprocessing, to support continued operation of U.S. reactors.
The antitrust hook is DPA Section 708, which DOJ said authorizes industry agreements necessary to meet national defense requirements and provides a limited antitrust defense for actions taken to develop or carry out approved agreements.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Antitrust Division said, "The Defense Production Act is a powerful tool for addressing issues related to our nation’s defense and preparedness programs." He also said the division looked forward to working with DOE on the consortium's goals of energy independence and access to fuel.
DOJ said it will lead continued monitoring efforts with the FTC and DOE as the consortium implements the approved Voluntary Agreement and Plans of Action. The department also pointed readers to DOE's DPA Consortium project page for more information.