BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) announced on Wednesday that its Nuclear Operations Group subsidiary has been awarded a 20-month, $26 million contract contract by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to expand and upgrade its TRIstructural-ISOtropic (TRISO) nuclear fuel manufacturing line.
“In October 2019, we announced plans to restart and expand our TRISO fuel production line because of strong market signals. The award that we’re announcing today is another step in that direction,” said Joel Duling, BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. president. “Since that time, we have made significant technical progress on our ongoing restart activities, including releasing the solution preparation, kernel forming, and sintering furnace systems for production use.”
The award will expand BWXT’s TRISO capacity for the manufacture of TRISO fuel compacts as well as upgrade existing systems for delivering production-scale quantities of TRISO fuel. BWXT will work to enable the fabrication and delivery of the fuel in support of future missions for both the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA.
This project is an effort jointly funded by the DoD’s Operational Energy Capabilities Improvement Fund (OECIF) Office and NASA, with overall program management provided by the Strategic Capabilities Office.
“This contract award is another in a string of recent announcements at BWXT related to our unique ability to manufacture TRISO fuel at scale for both government and commercial customers,” said Rex Geveden, BWXT’s president and chief executive officer. “We plan to continue to leverage our capabilities for growth given the outlook we see for this and other specialty nuclear fuel types.”
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.
