YNCHBURG, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced today that its BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. (NOG) subsidiary has been awarded a contract from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to manufacture TRISO nuclear fuel to support the continued development of the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR).
BWXT had previously announced that it is restarting its TRISO production line at its Lynchburg, Virginia manufacturing site. Restart activities will be finalized to allow for production to be completed by the fall of 2020.
TCR will demonstrate a revolutionary approach to deploying new nuclear power systems. By building and operating an additively manufactured microreactor, the ORNL program will explore solutions to the high costs and lengthy deployment timelines that threaten the future of nuclear energy—the country’s largest source of carbon-free energy. BWXT is also providing manufacturing support to the program in addition to TRISO fuel.
“This contract award is strategically significant given our stated intention to find new markets for our advanced nuclear technologies,” said BWXT NOG President Joel Duling. “We are exceedingly pleased with this award and look forward to working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Department of Energy to demonstrate safe and clean nuclear power generation with a novel, low-cost, additively manufactured nuclear reactor.”
The scope of the contract includes the fabrication and delivery of uranium kernels, TRISO coated surrogate materials, and TRISO coated uranium kernels. ORNL will use these materials as it continues the development and prototyping of the reactor’s design and advanced manufacturing process. BWXT is increasing its TRISO production capacity and would be able to provide the necessary quantities of fuel to power multiple reactor designs manufactured using TCR principles in the future.
Learn more about BWXT’s TRISO fuel program here. Learn more about the Transformational Challenge Reactor here.
About BWXT
At BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), we are People Strong, Innovation Driven. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Va., BWXT provides safe and effective nuclear solutions for national security, clean energy, environmental remediation, nuclear medicine and space exploration. With approximately 6,600 employees, BWXT has 12 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at more than a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities. Follow us on Twitter at @BWXTech and learn more at www.bwxt.com.
