BWXT Subsidiary Awarded $428 Million Contract for Uranium Conversion and Purification Services
April 10 2023 - 4:30PM
Business Wire
BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced today that its
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) subsidiary has been awarded a
$428 million contract from the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) to provide purification and conversion
services for highly enriched uranium (HEU).
Located in Erwin, Tennessee, NFS is one of only two Category I
nuclear facilities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) to store and process HEU. Under this five-year contract, NFS
will establish a process line inside the facility before initiating
conversion and purification operations.
Prior to this award, NFS successfully completed a $57.5 million
“Phase I” contract that began in 2021. The Phase I contract
required NFS to design a process line and demonstrate that it could
convert uranium oxide to purified uranium metal while meeting the
NNSA’s precise specifications, which required certain license
amendments through the NRC. The license amendment is expected to be
finalized later in 2023.
“Under the first phase of the contract, NFS proved that it could
meet the rigorous requirements outlined by the NNSA,” said Sharon
Smoot, BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. president. “The
conversion process is similar to other work we currently perform,
and we are confident that we will meet the demands of Phase II of
the contract while maintaining a strong focus on safety and
quality.”
The NNSA is responsible for the nation’s enriched uranium
inventory, which supports numerous national security missions,
including NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs, Naval Reactors and
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs. The oxide-to-metal
purification and conversion has historically been performed at the
NNSA’s Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12). Y-12 is currently
modernizing its facilities, making it necessary for NFS to provide
these services until Y-12 re-establishes this capability. The NNSA
will provide enriched uranium oxide to NFS for purification and
conversion and plans to return the purified metal back to Y-12 for
storage and future use. This Phase II contract will also allow NFS
to use portions of the purification and conversion line to produce
fuel feedstock for potential use by Naval Reactors.
Forward Looking Statements
BWXT cautions that this release contains forward-looking
statements, including statements relating to the performance,
timing, impact and value, to the extent contract value can be
viewed as an indicator of future revenues, of the HEU conversion
and purification services contract. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including,
among other things, modification or termination of the contract,
delays in performance and the receipt and timing of necessary
regulatory approvals. If one or more of these or other risks
materialize, actual results may vary materially from those
expressed. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk
factors, please see BWXT’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2022. BWXT cautions not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date of this release, and undertakes no obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required
by applicable law.
About BWXT
At BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), we are People Strong,
Innovation Driven. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia, BWXT is a
Fortune 1000 and Defense News Top 100 manufacturing and engineering
innovator that provides safe and effective nuclear solutions for
global security, clean energy, environmental restoration, nuclear
medicine and space exploration. With approximately 7,000 employees,
BWXT has 14 major operating sites in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations
at a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities. Follow us
on Twitter at @BWXT and learn more at www.bwxt.com.
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BWXT Media Contact Laura Bailey NFS Communications
Manager 423.735.5494 lebailey@bwxt.com BWXT Investor Contact
Chase Jacobson Vice President, Investor Relations 980.365.4300
investors@bwxt.com
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