NNSA selected BWXT-NFS to conduct a study on uranium enrichment centrifuge technology in support of defense programs mission

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration's (DOE/NNSA) competitively awarded a contract to BWXT Technologies, Inc.-Nuclear Fuel Services (BWXT-NFS) to complete a study on deploying a uranium enrichment centrifuge pilot plant to support NNSA's defense programs mission requirements. The year-long engineering study will inform DOE/NNSA's acquisition approach for demonstrating DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) technology in a pilot plant.

The DUECE pilot plant is required to reach key technology readiness milestones as part of DOE/NNSA's strategy to establish a reliable and economic supply of enriched uranium for defense purposes. The pilot plant will pave the way for eventual deployment in a defense production facility in the 2030s. DOE/NNSA looks forward to partnering with commercial industry partners to establish critical supply chains for long-term defense enrichment requirements.

DOE/NNSA's DUECE technology is being developed specifically for defense requirements, namely low-enriched uranium (LEU) for tritium production, and eventually highly enriched uranium (HEU), for naval nuclear propulsion.

Separately, DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) is leading acquisition efforts to provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and LEU for commercial nuclear power reactor fuel. DOE/NNSA maintains coordination with DOE-NE to ensure these two missions can be executed in a complementary fashion, sharing resources where appropriate and avoiding conflicts wherever possible.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will continue as the design authority for the DUECE technology, serving as the DOE/NNSA Gas Centrifuge and Enrichment Technology Center of Excellence.