Ruben J. Rodriguez

Orlando, FLA, USA

Mr. Rodriguez is a knowledgeable, seasoned consultant with a successful 35+ year history of work in the nuclear industry. His experience covers all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel procurement, small modular reactor (SMR) fuels due diligence for SMR technology being developed under DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, LEU/HALEU market fundamentals and pricing assessments, contract negotiation and administration, core design, fuel performance, fuel interim storage, special nuclear material accountability, budgeting, accounting, economics, fuel vendor transitions, and 24-month cycle implementation.

He has worked effectively with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including the three U.S. fuel vendors and domestic and international fuel suppliers. Mr. Rodriguez was employed by NextEra (and predecessor entities) for over 35 years, most recently as the Director of Nuclear Fuels, where he was responsible for directing all fuel related activities for eight nuclear units in all aspects of fuel procurement, fuel performance, core design, uranium, conversion and enrichment contracting and management. His focus on cost savings resulted in reducing fuel costs to be lowest of all major industry fleets.

He implemented many cost savings ideas to improve the fuel group operations’ bottom line, including efficiently servicing eight nuclear units with a group comprised of only 16 full-time equivalent employees. Bilingual in both English and Spanish, Mr. Rodriguez earned a bachelor’s degree Nuclear Engineering at the University of Florida.

Areas of Expertise

• Compatibility and mixed core evaluations
• Contract development
• Contract portfolio analysis
• Core components design, materials, and performance
• Core design
• Criticality analyses
• Cycle economics and fuel costs
• Decommissioning strategies
• Fuel cycle design
• Fuel department staffing and organization assessments
• Fuel Design & Manufacture
• Fuel design change reviews
• Fuel fabrication procurement
• Fuel handling, core loading, and operational support
• Fuel Management
• Fuel manufacturing technical oversight
• Fuel materials and irradiation effects
• Fuel performance and reliability
• Fuel rod analyses
• Government Policy evaluation and impacts
• Licensing Analysis
• Manufacturing quality surveillance (QS)
• New fuel design reviews / LTA's / Accident Tolerant Fuel
• Nuclear facility site feasibility studies
• Obligations reporting
• Operation & Performance
• Poolside inspections and failure cause determination
• Purchasing/marketing strategies
• QA program implementing procedures
• RCS chemistry program assessments
• RCS coolant activity analysis (failed fuel assessments)
• Regulatory assistance and support
• RFP and bid evaluations
• RFP and bid evaluations
• Safety analyses
• Security of supply studies
• SFP criticality analysis
• Spent fuel examinations
• Spent fuel storage options and economics
• Thermal-hydraulics analyses