BWXT Wins $1.5 Billion DOE Contract to Resume Domestic Uranium Enrichment

Enriched uranium produced at BWXT’s Tennessee pilot plant will be used to power nuclear-fueled submarines and aircraft carriers.

The Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) returns home to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael B. Zingaro/U.S. Navy via AP

Nuclear solutions provider BWX Technologies announced on Sept. 17 that it was awarded a $1.5 billion contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to establish a pipeline of domestically produced enriched uranium.

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. The uranium will be used to power nuclear-fueled submarines and aircraft carriers.

As part of the contract, Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT will build a domestic uranium-enrichment centrifuge manufacturing pilot plant on nearly 97 acres in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Centrifuges produced at the site will be used at BWXT’s nuclear fuel services facility in Erwin, Tennessee, the company said.

BWXT will design the centrifuge-manufacturing facility, secure all necessary permits, procure long-lead time materials, and manage plant operations once the facility is fully permitted and constructed. Construction of the facility began in June, the company said.

The centrifuge pilot plant is a crucial step in supporting the NNSA’s efforts to establish a domestic supply of enriched uranium, said Rex D. Geveden, BWXT’s president and CEO.

“NNSA’s selection of BWXT for this project acknowledges our long-standing role as a trusted partner in advancing the nation’s nuclear defense mission,” Geveden said. “Once operational, both facilities will enable us to scale manufacturing so the United States maintains sovereign capability to produce vital nuclear materials for national security.”

The pilot plant is expected to employ about 100 people when fully operational. Additional job growth is expected after the initial ramp-up and testing phases. Initially, the pilot plant will demonstrate low-enriched uranium production before ultimately being repurposed to produce highly enriched uranium for use in naval propulsion applications, BWX Technologies said.

The first nuclear-powered submarine in the world was the Navy’s USS Nautilus, which took its maiden voyage in 1955. Today, all 10 of the United States Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, and its singular Ford-class carrier, as well as all attack and ballistic missile submarines, are powered by onboard nuclear reactors. Enriched uranium is used as fuel by those reactors, but the United States halted production of enriched uranium in 1992.

The NNSA said in its statement that sole-sourcing the pilot program to BWXT allows the federal agency to streamline the deployment and development of the plant, which ensures more timely and reliable supply of both low- and highly enriched uranium.

“[The] pilot plant is required to reach key technological readiness milestones,” the NNSA said. “Partnering with commercial industry for this pilot plant helps to establish critical supply chains for enduring defense enrichment requirements and ensures capabilities are ready on time to support mission need dates.

The use of a pilot plant “is the natural progression of ongoing technology maturation efforts, and NNSA remains committed to continued collaboration with [Oak Ridge National Laboratory] to advance the reestablishment of enrichment capabilities for defense needs.”

Enriched uranium produced at the Tennessee pilot plant will not be used for the commercial nuclear power industry, the NNSA noted.