BWX Technologies opens new Oak Ridge centrifuge facility, adding to East Tennessee’s nuclear momentum
The company said its long-term plans include growing the Oak Ridge workforce as manufacturing scales and continuing to invest in facilities that support defense, energy, and space programs.
Oak Ridge’s role in the nation’s nuclear future grew again this week as BWX Technologies Inc. officially opened its Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility (CMDF), a project the company completed in just seven months. The facility currently employs about 100 highly skilled workers and is expected to grow as BWXT transitions from development into full manufacturing.
The new facility, located in the heart of Oak Ridge’s industrial corridor, will serve as the company’s primary hub for designing, engineering, fabricating, and testing advanced gas centrifuge machines. The CMDF is also a central component of the $1.5 billion contract BWXT secured last fall from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to ensure a stable supply of enriched uranium for national defense.
“I am so impressed with the speed at which the BWXT team moved, from breaking ground in late June to standing up this facility just seven months later,” said Rex Geveden, BWXT president and CEO. “With the CMDF now operational, we are positioned to move centrifuge technology from development into production readiness while strengthening America’s sovereign nuclear supply chain.”
Seven months go fast. Below is a picture of the CMDF from just September 2025.
The announcement from BWX Technologies further emphasizes recent news about how Tennessee, and particularly Oak Ridge, has become the Epicenter of nuclear activity in the US.
Praise from state and federal leaders
Federal and state leaders praised both the speed and strategic value of the investment.
“This facility signifies the kind of speed, focus, and capability our national security demands,” said NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams. “By restoring a fully domestic uranium enrichment capability for defense needs, we are ensuring the United States can meet its defense fuel requirements now and into the future.”
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who chairs the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said the new facility strengthens both national security and the region’s growing nuclear ecosystem.
“Oak Ridge and East Tennessee continue to be at the tip of the spear to create America’s New Nuclear Future that will secure our energy independence and strengthen our national security,” Fleischmann said. “BWXT’s first Oak Ridge facility keeps Tennessee as the preeminent leader in new nuclear and ensures America is not reliant on foreign sources of enriched uranium that is essential for our national defense and energy needs.”
The company already employs more than 1,100 Tennesseans across its Oak Ridge operations and its subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin. State officials said the CMDF’s opening further cements Tennessee as a national center of excellence in advanced nuclear technologies.
“BWXT’s decision to locate in Oak Ridge underscores why Tennessee is a national leader in advanced manufacturing and nuclear innovation,” said Deputy Governor and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Stuart McWhorter. “The company is creating high-quality jobs while strengthening our state’s role in national security.”
Nuclear growth outpacing the nation
The facility opening continues a wave of nuclear activity across East Tennessee that Teknovation has chronicled throughout the past couple of years.
Companies like Centrus, which announced a $560 million investment in Oak Ridge last week, Standard Nuclear, which announced the closure of a $140 million series A today, and LIS Technologies, which recently announced a $1.38 billion investment in Anderson County, are all rapidly scaling in East Tennessee. The region is also experiencing increased federal investment in HALEU availability, isotope production, and next-generation reactor supply chains.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) also remains a key driver and magnet for research around reactor materials, fusion, and microreactor technologies, while the Oak Ridge corridor has attracted private companies working on fuel fabrication, small modular reactors, and advanced manufacturing.
Combined, these initiatives reinforce the growing narrative that East Tennessee has become one of the nation’s most important clusters for nuclear innovation, spanning federal, commercial, and defense applications.
What’s next for BWXT?
BWXT’s Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility is expected to accelerate the company’s path from prototype development to production readiness, ultimately supporting both defense fuel requirements and the broader national effort to rebuild domestic uranium enrichment capabilities.
The company said its long-term plans include growing the Oak Ridge workforce as manufacturing scales and continuing to invest in facilities that support defense, energy, and space programs.
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