Dive Brief: Nuclear industry watchdogs and advocates alike worry that President Trump’s abrupt firing of Commissioner Christopher Hanson from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hinder ongoing NRC reforms and threaten Trump’s promise of an American nuclear renaissance. Hanson’s dismissal opens a vacancy on the five-member Commission, which requires three members to meet quorum. A second vacancy looms if the U.S. Senate fails to act on Trump’s renomination of Chairman David Wright by July 1.  The move comes less than a month after Trump issued four executive orders aimed at speeding up reactor approvals, expanding the U.S. nuclear supply chain, restructuring the NRC itself and adding 300 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050. Dive Insight: In a public statement, Hanson described his termination late on June 13 as “without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.” Hanson has not yet taken legal action to challenge his dismissal or indicated whether he plans to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court in a May ruling gave the President broad latitude to dismiss most independent agency appointees without cause. A White House spokesperson told National Public Radio that Trump “reserves the right to remove employees within his own executive branch who exert his executive authority” and that “[a]ll organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction.” The spokesperson did not indicate what prompted Hanson’s dismissal. NRC is currently reviewing construction permit applications for grid-connected advanced nuclear reactors in Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming; and respective operating license applications from Holtec International and Constellation Energy to restart the 800-MW Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan and 835-MW Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania. With more than 30 advanced reactor designs in pre-application engagement, its docket is all but certain to grow. Industry groups and

Two supertankers, each capable of hauling about 2 million barrels of crude, headed through the Hormuz shipping strait at the mouth of the Persian gulf, having performed U-turns in the past 24 hours. On Sunday, the Coswisdom Lake and South Loyalty entered the waterway and abruptly changed course, according to vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. After a pause, both then headed back through Hormuz. One was almost through and the other entering it, signals from each showed on Monday. The two vessels’ movements into the world’s most important oil-producing region come as shipbrokers and others in the oil tanker market report a cautious willingness to enter the stretch of water that’s pivotal to the global oil trade. Separately, Greece’s shipping ministry warned on Sunday that the country’s owners should think twice about Hormuz transit and instead head to a safe port.  While neither tanker is Greek, the communication from Athens underscored an initial wariness about going through an area that handles about a fifth of the world’s oil. Greece is the owner of the world’s largest tanker fleet by transportation capacity. Coswisdom Lake is managed by Cosco Shipping Energy and South Loyalty by Sinokor Merchant Marine, according to industry databases. Both are very large crude carriers, or VLCCs. Neither company immediately responded to emailed requests for comment. There remain examples of wariness. Two large large Japanese shipping companies said they will cut exposure to the strait, an unavoidable searoute any vessel entering the Persian Gulf. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Molly Podolefsky is a managing director at Clarum Advisors. Investment uncertainty is spurring conversations in strategy sessions and boardrooms across our industry. Utility executives find themselves at the nexus of sweeping geopolitical, policy and market change, compounding uncertainty around investments in grid expansion. Inflation, tariffs, shifting global supply chains and extreme weather combined with explosive demand growth are increasing utilities’ risk exposure beyond business as usual. Massive levels of investment are needed to secure clean, affordable, reliable energy to satisfy increased demands due to ongoing electrification, data centers and hyperscalers, and industrial customers onshoring their plants. Utilities must contend with unprecedented levels of uncertainty as they decide which investments to make and are faced with very long lead times to build new generation, transmission and distribution assets. Utilities must consider significant regulatory, political and environmental barriers to asset development which could slow roll-out, negatively impacting budgets. Tariffs and bottlenecks in global supply chains may delay generation build-out, worsening capacity constraints and increasing cost. Insufficient data and imprecise market forecasts make it difficult for utilities to anticipate data center and hyperscaler growth, increasing the risk of over-building generation resources. At the same time, by not acting aggressively, utilities jeopardize their ability to meet customer demand. Today we often hear “all of the above” proposed as the answer to exponential demand growth. While there’s an element of truth in this, a more nuanced approach, given geopolitical and economic uncertainty, entails considering all options but prioritizing and implementing low-risk, high-reward investment strategies first. Against this backdrop, behind-the-meter flexibility tops the list of no-regret investment strategies utilities should consider under uncertainty. In a recent article for Public Utilities Fortnightly, Clarum Advisors proposed a framework for de-risking investment under uncertainty. Three key themes inform the framework: Investing in the systems we need, independence from uncertain

Flow batteries are not, strictly speaking, a new technology. Yet even with improvements to decrease the cost, the flow batteries have never really caught on — until, perhaps, recently. Energy storage developer XL Batteries said in May that it had penned a contract to pilot a 333-kW organic flow battery at a data center owned by Wyoming-based Prometheus Hyperscale. And other energy storage companies, focused on other types of batteries, have made similar announcements in recent months. Eos Energy Enterprises, which produces zinc-based batteries, has entered talks with an unnamed, large-scale developer of data centers. While data center operators remain interested in renewable energy — a strategy that will likely require some form of energy storage — that wasn’t the primary reason why Prometheus decided to green-light XL Batteries’ flow battery pilot, according to XL Batteries CEO Tom Sisto. Rather, the company was looking for a non-flammable technology that could react quickly to large shifts in power demand, and XL’s organic flow batteries fit the bill. Other industry leaders agree with Sisto: as a growing number of data centers look to acquire massive power supplies on short timelines, it could be opening a door for mature, but as-yet under-utilized energy storage technologies. Most projects remain relatively small-scale pilots as data center operators and developers test new solutions, but XL Batteries already has ample buyers waiting in the wings should the Prometheus project — which is slated for completion in 2027 — perform as expected. Prometheus itself has already contracted to buy up to two 12.5 MW purchases, one each in 2028 and 2029, pending the pilot. “Once this is shown to be working, we’re probably already sold out,” Sisto said. An appetite for innovation Data centers have multiple, unique power needs that could lead them to new and underused forms of

EnerMech Pty. Ltd. said it has been awarded a contract by ExxonMobil to deliver a complete flowline decommissioning package for the Hoover Diana development in the Gulf of America. The project scope includes decommissioning the subsea flowlines, marking EnerMech’s first major decommissioning campaign in the region, the Aberdeen, Scotland-based engineering services firm said in a news release. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. The Hoover and Diana fields are located approximately 160 miles south of Galveston, Texas. The project utilizes floating production deep draft caisson vessel (DDCV) technology, which has gained the world record for deepwater drilling and production depths, the company said. The DDCV floats vertically and is nearly 150 feet in diameter, incorporating both drilling and production facilities. Twelve anchor lines, each extending 7,100 feet from the hull, secure the facility to the sea floor. The hub ties in the remote Diana field around 15 miles away and two satellite fields, Marshall and Madison, each located about seven miles from the facility, according to ExxonMobil. EnerMech said it will deploy a team that integrates multiple service lines from its Energy Solutions division, including coiled tubing, pressure pumping, chemical services, filtration, separation, and pipeline gauging. The project scope includes flushing, pigging, and filling subsea pipelines to safely remove hydrocarbons and prepare them for decommissioning. The plan involves flushing of the umbilical, pipeline flushing, and seawater fill operations for the subsea flowline loop, as well as nitrogen flushing via subsea vessel, coiled tubing services, and final seawater filling for the Northern Diana flowline, according to the release. EnerMech CEO, Charles Davison Jr. said, “The Hoover-Diana project marks our first large-scale decommissioning engagement in the Gulf of Mexico, building on the strong relationship we’ve developed with ExxonMobil in Guyana since 2018. Executing a multi-service end-of-lifecycle project of this scale

Baker Hughes has agreed to buy Continental Disc Corp. (CDC) for around $540 million in cash as part of its portfolio optimization strategy. Liberty, Missouri-based CDC, owned by Tinicum Inc., designs and produces rupture discs, rupture disc holders, burst disc indicators, pressure- and vacuum-relief valves, flame and detonation arrestors, and related safety products. These are used in applications across oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage, and aerospace. These products “are highly complementary to Baker Hughes Industrial & Energy Technology’s (IET) existing Control Valve and High-Pressure Relief Valve offerings”, Baker Hughes said in a press release. “With a large global installed base and essential products that require regular replacement to maintain safety and operational reliability, CDC generates significant recurring revenue”, Baker Hughes added. “In 2024, approximately 80 percent of CDC’s $109 million in proforma revenue was recurring – a key driver of its strong returns and highly accretive margin profile”. “The addition of CDC aligns with Baker Hughes’ acquisition criteria: a strong strategic fit with growth and synergy opportunities, accretive margins and returns, and a lifecycle business model that supports long-term aftermarket demand and strengthens earnings quality”, it said. Baker Hughes said it would fund the purchase with cash on hand. The parties expect to close the transaction in the fourth quarter subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. “Together with the recently announced SPC and PSI transactions, this acquisition sets the blueprint for our portfolio optimization strategy – focused on driving higher returns and creating long-term value for our shareholders”, commented Baker Hughes chair and chief executive Lorenzo Simonelli. Earlier this month Baker Hughes announced a deal with Cactus Inc. to create a joint venture consisting of Baker Hughes’ surface pressure control business.  Cactus will have operational control with a 65 percent stake. Baker Hughes will retain 35 percent. “The joint venture