BWX Technologies’ (BWXT) subsidiary, BWXT Advanced Fuels, will supply tri-structural – or TRISO – fuel to Antares Nuclear under a new multi-year agreement, the companies said Tuesday.
Under this contract, BWXT will provide an initial supply of one metric ton of uranium of TRISO fuel to Antares. If Antares reactor deployment continues to grow, then BWXT Advanced Fuels could increase its production ability, according to BWXT’s press release. The contract will expire at the end of the decade, Antares said. However, the value of the contract was not provided in the release.
The TRISO produced under this agreement will be manufactured at BWXT’s facility in Lynchburg, Va. BWXT said this TRISO will be produced on the same production fuel line used for the Department of Defense’s Project Pele.
Antares and BWXT have previously worked together, as BWXT produced TRISO fuel for Antares’ Mark-0 test reactor when it reached zero-power criticality at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory under the reactor pilot program.
“BWXT’s decades of experience in advanced fuel manufacturing give us the foundation to support Antares as they accelerate toward commercial deployment,” Joe Miller, president of BWXT Government Operations, said. “Our team has refined the processes for high‑performance TRISO fuel, and this agreement enables us to apply those strengths in a sustained, predictable way. As demand grows across the advanced reactor sector, BWXT is prepared to scale.”
Following Antares’ selection under the Army’s Janus program, a military installation microreactor deployment program, the company has secured several fuel production contracts. Prior to the BWXT agreement, Antares has made agreements with Centrus Energy and Standard Nuclear.
Antares also signed a high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) deal with Urenco in May.
“We achieved criticality with BWXT fuel, and it’s what will power our electricity producing reactor, Mark-1, in 2027,” Jordan Bramble, Antares CEO, said. “Securing that same line through the end of the decade means our first production deployments run on fuel from a team and a process we’ve already proven.”
