BWXT Seeks NRC License for Uranium Enrichment Facility in Tennessee to Boost Defense Fuel Supply
BWX Technologies (BWXT) has initiated the pre-application process with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to obtain a uranium enrichment license for a new facility in Erwin, Tennessee. This move is part of a $1.5 billion contract with the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) aimed at reestablishing a domestic supply of highly enriched uranium (HEU) for naval nuclear propulsion. The Erwin facility, expected to be operational by 2035, will produce HEU for the NNSA's Naval Reactors program. BWXT plans to locate the facility adjacent to its Nuclear Fuel Services site, which already manufactures fuel for U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers. The company has also opened a Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to support the enrichment plant activities. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to restore the U.S.'s lost uranium enrichment capability, which ceased in 2013 when USEC stopped operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion... 
