BWXT completes nuclear fuel line project, begins fuel production

Lynchburg company producing uranium nuclear reactor fuel

Published November 11, 2020 by Sydney Lake

A subsidiary of Lynchburg-based nuclear fuel supplier BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) announced Tuesday it has completed the TRISO (tristructural isotropic particle fuel) nuclear fuel line restart project for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and is producing the fuel at its Lynchburg facility.

In June, DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory awarded BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. a contract to expand its manufacturing capacity of TRISO, a uranium fuel used in nuclear reactors. BWXT is in the process of hiring 25 additional workers for its TRISO operations.

“The restart of our TRISO line positions BWXT as the only company in the U.S. that is currently executing production contracts for TRISO fuel,” BWXT Nuclear Operations Group President Joel Duling said in a statement. “I’m very proud of our team for blending new, innovative ideas with our extensive history and experience in fuel development and manufacturing.”

BWXT manufactures fuel across four commercial and government business lines, including BWXT Nuclear Operations Group. BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada manufactures approximately half of the fuel powering the commercial reactor fleet in Ontario; BWXT subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. is the sole nuclear fuel provider for the U.S. Navy; and BWXT’s Uranium Processing and Research Reactors operation is the only North American supplier of research reactor fuel elements for colleges, universities and national laboratories.

The company employs approximately 6,600 people across 12 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada. BXWT also provides management and operations at the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

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