State awards nuclear fund money to BWXT as it buys 97 acres in Oak Ridge for uranium enrichment

Added new information on the amount of grant.

Gov. Bill Lee and Stuart C. McWhorter, state economic and community development commissioner, announced April 15 a grant has been awarded to support the establishment of a facility that manufactures centrifuges in Oak Ridge to bolster uranium enrichment in the United States.

The grant was awarded to BWXT Enrichment Operations LLC, a subsidiary of BWX Technologies Inc., which announced it had acquired 97 acres of land in the Horizon Center industrial park near Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

BWXT, in its own news release, said its investment in the new Oak Ridge site includes future plans for establishing advanced centrifuge manufacturing capability and specialized support services, which could eventually create hundreds of new jobs.

BWXT called the acquisition of the Horizon Center land "a signal of BWXT’s intent to support future defense missions by supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and deployment of the Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment technology" from ORNL for unobligated enriched uranium.

As explained in a previous story on Knox News, "unobligated" uranium is not bound by peaceful use restrictions.

The BWXT Oak Ridge site will support the establishment of a reliable, long-term domestic supply of enriched uranium for the nation’s defense. The NNSA’s DUECE program, developed and designed by ORNL, is intended to advance uranium enrichment expertise and technology for current and future U.S. national security needs.

The program will establish new capability using centrifuge technologies.

"We don’t have a firm date on when this centrifuge manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge would open, we are still early in the process, but confidently moving forward. The need for domestic uranium for defense purposes and national security is solid and the DUECE program is the solution for producing HEU (highly enriched uranium)," BWXT spokesman John Dobken said in an emailed response to The Oak Ridger's questions.

He said the company would spend approximately $45 million and create about 60 jobs for the first facility on the site.

"We anticipate other buildings going on the site in the future," Dobken said.

Highly enriched uranium is composed of more than 90% uranium-235 and its stored and processed at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. In the long term, the U.S. government will need more highly-enriched uranium to power nuclear reactors aboard U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, according to a Knox News story.

“The Oak Ridge community is a hub of innovation and nuclear expertise ready to support the NNSA’s national security mission,” Kevin McCoy, president of BWXT Government Operations, stated in the company news release. “The deployment of the domestically manufactured DUECE centrifuge resets our nation on the path to energy independence.”

BWXT employs more than 1,140 people in Tennessee, mainly at two locations: Nuclear FuelServices in Erwin and its recently acquired Jonesborough facility.

The amount of the grant was not specified by the state in the news release. However, the state economic and community development department later posted to its website that the grant totals $715,000. Tt is the third grant awarded from Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Fund, which assists nuclear power-related businesses that choose to relocate or grow in the state, as well as supporting the state’s educational and research institutions in developing their nuclear education programs.

The state’s Nuclear Energy Fund totaled $50 million when it started in 2023-24. Another $10 million was allocated and approved in the state’s budget during the 2024 legislative session with an additional $10 million recommended in the 2025 budget currently in review.

“We created the Nuclear Energy Fund to foster an ecosystem for this industry to grow andthrive, and I am proud to announce another investment supporting Tennessee’s strategy to lead America's energy independence with clean and reliable nuclear energy. We are proud to partner with BWXT to drive continued economic growth and create greater opportunity for Tennesseans," Lee stated.

The Horizon Park land is in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge. Roane County Executive Wade Creswell stated, “Roane County is thankful for and excited about BWXT’s investment in Oak Ridge. Our region is the most nuclear friendly in the nation, and BWXT’s announcement further strengthens our efforts to power America’s nuclear renaissance.”

Daniel Dassow of Knox News contributed to this story.

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.

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