The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) (NYSE:BWC) was joined by Representative Bob Goodlatte (VA-6) and Bob Sledd, Senior Economic Advisor to the Governor of Virginia, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at the new B&W mPower™ Fuel Technology Center (FTC) in Lynchburg, Va. The advanced manufacturing technologies B&W will use to produce nuclear fuel for its B&W mPower small modular reactor (SMR) will be developed and qualified at the FTC. Longer term, the technologies developed at the FTC give B&W the ability to support the manufacture of fuel for other reactors.

This newly dedicated facility marks the third major infrastructure development project in Virginia related to the B&W mPower reactor, including the establishment of a dedicated design office in 2010 and an Integrated System Test facility in 2011.

The FTC has three primary missions:

• Develop and demonstrate key fabrication technologies and processes needed for the planned manufacture of B&W mPower reactor fuel and fuel-related components
• Fabricate production-representative prototype fuel assemblies and individual components in order to support the fuel design, testing and licensing process
• Serve as the materials test facility for engineers to evaluate the mechanical performance of both complete fuel assemblies and individual assembly components

Christofer M. Mowry, President of Babcock & Wilcox mPower, Inc., said, "Bringing a viable, proven SMR design to market requires an investment in facilities needed to qualify and manufacture reactor components. B&W is proud to add this dedicated facility to our robust B&W mPower development infrastructure. Our operational testing and manufacturing facilities, design maturity and unparalleled depth of industry partnerships are important reasons why the B&W mPower reactor is receiving strong interest from customers both domestically and abroad."

Representative Goodlatte said, "B&W has a long history of nuclear manufacturing innovation, and today's ceremony demonstrates how the company continues to stay on the cutting edge of energy technology development and deployment. The fact that this new facility will add more than a dozen high-tech jobs to the hundreds already created by B&W to develop their SMR program clearly demonstrates how a U.S. company can keep good-paying jobs at home and further develop our nation's advanced manufacturing infrastructure."

To date, B&W has invested more than $5 million in the FTC. The facility includes state-of-the-art robotics, inspection and welding equipment. No nuclear material is used at the facility.

About B&W

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a leader in clean energy technology and services, primarily for the nuclear, fossil and renewable power markets, as well as a premier advanced technology and mission critical defense contractor. B&W has locations worldwide and employs approximately 12,700 people, in addition to approximately 10,400 joint venture employees. Learn more at www.babcock.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

B&W cautions that statements in this release that are not historical fact may constitute forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the use of the B&W mPower™ Fuel Technology Center. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, delays in or adverse changes relating to the funding B&W mPower research and development efforts and adverse changes in the supply of or demand for nuclear power. If one or more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see B&W's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. B&W cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.