The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is a multi-program national laboratory for the U.S.

Department of Energy A ministry of energy or department of energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rela ...

’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management. SRNL is located at the

Savannah River Site The Savannah River Site (SRS), formerly the Savannah River Plant, is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States, located in the state of South Carolina on land in Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties adjacent to the ...

(SRS) near

Jackson, South Carolina Jackson is a town in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,700 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. History Silver Bluff was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

. It was founded in 1951, as the Savannah River Laboratory as a research, development and manufacturing center for

tritium Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...

production from

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

. The intended end use of the tritium was in

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

weapons (such as

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...

), as well as in

thermonuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or absorption of ener ...

reactors for civilian use.

Plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

production and research was a second main activity in the lab at that time. Since the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the laboratory expanded its civilian research. Savannah River Laboratory was certified as a national laboratory on May 7, 2004. SRNL research topics include

environmental remediation Environmental remediation is the cleanup of hazardous substances dealing with the removal, treatment and containment of pollution or contaminants from Natural environment, environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment. Remediation may be ...

, technologies for the

hydrogen economy The hydrogen economy is an umbrella term for the roles hydrogen can play alongside low-carbon electricity to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The aim is to reduce emissions where cheaper and more energy-efficient clean solutions are not ava ...

, handling of hazardous materials and technologies for prevention of

nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonl ...

vitrification Vitrification (, via French ') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non- crystalline or amorphous solid. Glasses differ from liquids structurally and glasses possess a higher degree of connectivity ...

of nuclear waste and in

hydrogen storage Several methods exist for storing hydrogen. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand. While large amounts of hydrogen are produced by variou ...

. SRNL is a founding member of the

South Carolina Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Alliance The South Carolina Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Alliance (SCHFCA) is a Public-private collaborative with a mission of advancing the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell technologies in the state of South Carolina. Government entities, in particular, t ...

(SCHFCA).

Budget and staff

SRNL employs 1400 people and has an annual programmatic budget of 400 million U.S. Dollars (2023).

Operations

SRNL was operated by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions,

LLC A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

for the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

from 2008 to 2021. The LLC is a partnership between

Fluor Corporation Fluor Corporation is an American engineering and construction firm, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in three main areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government ...

, Newport News Nuclear, Inc. (a subsidiary of

Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed ...

) and

Honeywell International Honeywell International Inc. is an American public company, publicly traded, multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four are ...

. In 2020, the Department of Energy approved a split in the SRS Maintenance and Operations contract. The agency awarded the SRNL M&O contract to Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BSRA), retaining Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC for the maintenance and operations of the Savannah River Site. BSRA is wholly owned by

Battelle Memorial Institute Battelle Memorial Institute (or simply Battelle) is an American private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. History The institute was founded in 1929 by Gordon Battelle. Originall ...

and partners with five regional universities. Contract transition was completed in 2021.

Directors

The following persons served as the Savannah River National Laboratory director:

References

External links

*
Official website for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS)Official website for the Savannah River Site (SRS)
Buildings and structures in Aiken County, South Carolina United States Department of Energy national laboratories Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Savannah River Site Research institutes in South Carolina {{US-gov-stub

Budget and staff

Operations

Directors

See also

References

External links