(LYNCHBURG, Va. – April 21, 2020) – BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced today that its TRISO nuclear fuel manufacturing restart activities are continuing to progress ahead of schedule.

 Most recently, BWXT has demonstrated the capability to form and sinter uranium oxycarbide (UCO) fuel kernels that serve as a precursor to the TRISO coating process. (Sintering is a process by which heat and pressure are applied to form a solid fuel kernel.) With the completion of these activities, BWXT is now focusing on bringing two additional furnaces online (an additional sintering furnace and a coating furnace) to meet projected production demand before restart activities are complete.

In late 2019, BWXT produced uranium solutions for TRISO fuel as the company progressed with its previously announced plans to restart its manufacturing line and increase capacity at its Lynchburg, Va. facility. BWXT is restarting its existing TRISO fuel production capability and increasing its capacity to position the company to meet emergent client interests in Department of Defense microreactors, space reactors, and civil advanced reactors.

“BWXT has been working expeditiously to complete our preparations to restart our TRISO line and produce TRISO fuel at scale,” said Joel Duling, president of BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. “I can’t say enough about how well our employees have performed to get us to this stage and position us to finish our restart efforts later this year, even in the face of recent challenges across the globe. The effort and accomplishment is truly phenomenal.”

TRISO refers to a specific design of uranium nuclear reactor fuel. TRISO is a shortened form of the term TRIstructural-ISOtropic. TRIstructural refers to the layers of coatings surrounding the uranium fuel kernel, and ISOtropic refers to the coatings having uniform materials characteristics in all directions so that fission products are essentially retained. TRISO fuel can withstand extreme heat and has very low proliferation concerns and environmental risks.

BWXT is the only U.S. company to manufacture irradiation-tested uranium oxycarbide TRISO fuel using production-scale equipment. BWXT and the U.S. Department of Energy have cooperated in the development and qualification of TRISO-based fuel for more than 15 years, demonstrating and establishing the company’s commercial capability for TRISO fuel manufacturing.

Forward Looking Statements

BWXT cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to its plans to restart the Company’s TRISO nuclear fuel production line, expand its production capacity and hire additional employees; TRISO fuel validation; projected TRISO fuel demand and interest; and the timing and impact of the foregoing. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, modification or termination of the contract, delays in and proving the technology and validation. 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, 2019 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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, Va., BWXTprovides safe and effective nuclear solutions for national security, clean energy, environmental remediation, nuclear medicine and space exploration. With approximately 6,600 employees, BWXT has 12 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at more than a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities.  Follow us on Twitter at @BWXTech and learn more atwww.bwxt.com.

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Jud Simmons
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