BWXT Starts Production of TRISO Fuel for First U.S. Generation IV Microreactor

BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) today with officials from the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA and Idaho National Laboratory celebrated the landmark production of TRISO nuclear fuel that will power the first microreactor built and operated in the United States.

The Department of Energy (DOE) calls TRISO “the most robust nuclear fuel on earth.” The small, energy-dense coated uranium particles can withstand high temperatures, enabling smaller and more advanced reactor designs.

Under a $37 million award from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), BWXT will manufacture a core for Project Pele, TRISO fuel for additional reactors and coated particle fuel for NASA. INL administers the contract and provides the technical support and oversight. Fuel for the reactor will be downblended from U.S. government stockpiles of high-enriched uranium (HEU) to high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and fabricated into TRISO fuel at the BWXT facility in Lynchburg, Virginia. BWXT facilities are the only private U.S. facilities licensed to possess and process HEU.

“TRISO particle fuel is ideal for the next generation of reactors poised to help us meet our country’s clean energy goals,” said U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff. “It is extremely exciting to see decades of DOE’s investments in TRISO fuel’s robust safety performance paying off to power many of the most innovative advanced reactor designs to be deployed within this decade.”

The Project Pele microreactor is designed to be capable of being safely transported in standard-sized shipping containers. Microreactors are designed to reduce the need for vulnerable fossil fuel deliveries relied on by the U.S. military, and also to provide power for disaster response and recovery, power generation in remote areas and deep decarbonization efforts.

“With supreme safety and performance characteristics, advanced nuclear fuels are the key enabler for fielding of next-generation reactor technologies,” BWXT President and CEO Rex D. Geveden said. “We are extremely pleased to initiate full-scale production of TRISO for the Pele program and further develop similar coated nuclear fuel technology for space exploration programs with NASA. This differentiating capability at BWXT results from a longstanding partnership with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Lab, and it is gratifying to reach this milestone.”