OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — A centrifuge-making facility opened in Oak Ridge, BWX Technologies announced Monday.
The company aims to help make sure the United States has a full domestic supply of enriched uranium, saying this supports national security priorities. In September, the Department of Energy gave BWXT a $1.5 billion contract for a program meant to ensure a reliable and secure supply of enriched uranium for defense fuel, the company said. The facility in Oak Ridge is part of the program.
Centrus to invest $560M, add 430 jobs at Oak Ridge manufacturing plant
“I am so impressed with the speed at which the BWXT team moved, from breaking ground in late June to standing up this facility just seven months later,” said Rex D. Geveden, BWXT president and CEO. “With the CMDF now operational, we are positioned to move centrifuge technology from development into production readiness while strengthening America’s sovereign nuclear supply chain.”
“Oak Ridge and East Tennessee continue to be at the tip of the spear to create America’s New Nuclear Future that will secure our energy independence and strengthen our national security,” said Energy and Water Appropriations Chairman Representative Chuck Fleischmann. “After years of deliberate decline, we are revitalizing our domestic nuclear industry and making America into the global leader in new nuclear.”…