THU AM News: SHINE to lead project applying AI to fuel recycling; Pressure Chamber finalists revealed

August 6, 2026

— SHINE Technologies will lead a federally backed project aimed at improving fuel recycling with AI, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.

The Janesville-based nuclear technology company this week announced it has been chosen for two programs under the U.S. Department of Energy’s $5 billion Genesis Mission, created in November through an executive order.

It outlines a coordinated national effort to “unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery” leveraging federal scientific data. The agency’s leadership is tasked with using these resources to develop AI agents to augment the scientific process and ultimately achieve more breakthroughs.

Within this broader mission, SHINE has been named the prime recipient on a Phase 1 project tasked with creating an “AI-enabled workflow” to help engineers create better processes for recycling fuels. This goal aligns with the company’s work in the field of recycling spent nuclear fuel, part of its strategy for ultimately achieving commercial fusion energy.

SHINE says U.S. stockpiles contain about 95,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel that can be recycled to recover valuable materials. In addition to much of its energy potential remaining, the spent fuel also contains valuable metals and isotopes.

“Better process design means recovering more usable material from that stockpile,” the company says of the project’s potential upside.

Along with the Janesville company’s expertise, the project will leverage the Argonne lab’s existing tools, including the AMUSE platform for modeling chemical processes for separating used fuel, and the ARTEMIS modeling system for recycling facility components. They will be augmented with a “new AI layer” being developed through the project to identify design options.

While SHINE is leading the first project, it’s playing a supporting role in another effort under the DOE mission to apply AI to the nuclear energy field.

The Prometheus Phase II project, led by Idaho National Laboratory, will be supported with SHINE’s fuel recycling program data while the company will get early access to the resulting tools being developed.

The DOE last month announced it had secured $800 million in partner funding for the Genesis Mission, which also last month completed its Request for Applications process. DOE Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement the 278 selected projects “represent the very best of our nation’s scientific enterprise.”

See the company’s release.

See more in the executive order.

See a recent story on the business.

— Finalists in this year’s Pressure Chamber pitch competition are developing innovations in healthcare, food and infrastructure.

The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the annual event Aug. 18 as part of Forward Festival, this week rolled out details for the four finalists that will compete before a live audience and panel of judges.

The winner will claim the “golden suitcase” award and will take part in a chamber-organized trip to meet with Silicon Valley investors in the fall. Chamber President Zach Brandon notes that Pressure Chamber has now been running for more than a dozen years.

“This year’s finalists exemplify the strength and versatility of that economy,” he said in a statement. “Representing diverse industries, they are united in their approach to solving complex problems with unique, innovative solutions.”

The finalists include:

*CellTrack, a company with technology for non-invasive imaging in the field of cell therapies. The business boasts 100 times greater sensitivity than alternatives, resulting in costs and development times being reduced by half.

*CuroNow, a care coordination platform for home care agencies to keep information organized between caregivers, agencies and clients.

*FUDI Protein, which makes a protein product from plant leaves called RuBisCO, calling it “the world’s most abundant, functional and sustainable protein.”

*Service ID, which has an AI-based platform for managing water utility resources with applications in lead line replacement service.

See more in the release.

See details on Forward Festival in a recent podcast, including a link to register.

— SSM Health is appealing the NLRB decision to certify a June 11 union election for nurses at its St. Mary’s Hospital location, raising “concerns about the election process” and seeking further review.

In a statement yesterday on the appeal, a spokesperson for the health system said SSM Health had objected to “conduct that we believe affected the election environment” and disrupted the hospital’s operations.

“We do not believe these concerns were adequately investigated before regional NLRB staff dismissed the objections and certified the election,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Federal labor law provides the opportunity to seek review of regional decisions, and we are exercising that right by asking a higher level of the NLRB to consider our appeal.”

The spokesperson said the employer respects its employees’ rights to make decisions about joining a union.

“We greatly value our nurses and the important contributions they make every day,” the spokesperson said. “Our focus remains on supporting them and continuing to provide exceptional care for our patients and the communities we serve.”

Meanwhile, SEIU Wisconsin argues SSM Health leaders “should be working collaboratively” with nurses to solve the “extreme” understaffing, burnout and turnover at the Madison hospitals. In a statement on the appeal, a spokesperson for the union argues the employer is wasting resources to undermine the labor group.

“They need to drop their objections to our union election and do what is right for our patients, our profession and our community,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

The union also says SSM Health has “continued their pressure tactics inside our hospital,” alleging the health system has threatened nurses with disciplinary action for union activity, as well as destroying and confiscating union information and materials.

“These tactics distract from patient care delivery and cause us further anxiety, when we are already struggling with understaffing, stress and exhaustion,” the spokesperson wrote. “They also go against our local Madison and Wisconsin values.

The National Labor Relations Board’s regional office last month officially certified the election, in which nurses voted by an 89% margin in favor of unionizing. Of the 853 eligible voters in the June 11 election, a total of 574 ballots were counted, and 511 nurses voted in favor of unionizing.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— Two conservative groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Dem Gov. Tony Evers from signing new compacts with Native American tribes to allow online gaming, arguing a new law authorizing him to negotiate new deals is unconstitutional.

The suit argues, in part, that allowing only Native American tribes to offer online gaming would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection guarantee by conferring special benefits based on race. While acknowledging Congress has some ability to do that for tribes because of treaty obligations, the suit argues that “privilege has never been afforded to states.”

The Evers administration has begun meeting with tribes to amend their compacts, and spokesperson Britt Cudaback yesterday knocked the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty over the suit. The firm filed it on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association and Citizens for Defending Liberty.

“Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is a radical, right-wing entity that is actively working to undermine the sovereignty of the Tribal Nations in Wisconsin, and @GovEvers will fight that effort every step of the way,” Cudaback wrote.

The suit also argues the Legislature violated the Wisconsin Constitution by granting Evers the authority to negotiate expanded compacts.

The Wisconsin Constitution bars the Legislature from authorizing “gambling in any form” with narrow exceptions for bingo and raffles, pari-mutuel and on-track betting, and the state lottery.

It’s also generally a crime under state law to make a bet.

The law exempts bets if the person placing the bet is located in Wisconsin and using an electronic or mobile device to make the wager through servers located on tribal lands. It’s similar to a system used in Florida.

— State Affairs next week is holding a virtual panel focused on data center issues, featuring Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin and other speakers.

The panel is being held Tuesday at 11 a.m. as part of the inaugural State Affairs Insider monthly policy series. Other panelists include Apolo.us CEO Bill Kleyman and Irene Shin of the Virginia House of Delegates.

State Affairs/Pluribus News General Manager Reid Wilson will host.

See event details and register here.

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