As advanced nuclear developers push for safer, more efficient and more flexible reactor technologies, they need a fuel partner who can mitigate technical uncertainty and accelerate deployment.
BWXT is that partner. As a leading U.S. producer of TRISO (TRi–structural ISOtropic) fuel, we help customers meet demanding safety, performance and regulatory requirements with secure domestic manufacturing, rigorous quality standards and decades of proven performance.
Fuel Built for Safety
and Performance
Advanced reactor developers must demonstrate compliance with safety standards and simplify reactor designs that operate at higher temperatures. TRISO fuel addresses these challenges by turning each fuel particle into its own containment system. Multiple ceramic and carbon layers surround the uranium kernel, retaining fission products even under extreme conditions.
TRISO gives developers greater safety margins and broader operating flexibility, while reducing dependance on active safety systems.
Key customer-focused advantages:
- Multiple ceramic and carbon layers provide robust containment
- High–temperature performance with passive safety features
- Long–term stability reduces fuel–related operational risk
- Compatible with high–temperature gas–cooled, molten salt and other advanced reactor designs
Fuel Built for Your Mission
BWXT engineers and manufactures TRISO fuel for a wide range of advanced reactor applications, including:
- High-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs)
- Molten-salt-cooled reactors
- Microreactors and mobile power systems
- Government demonstration reactors
Wherever customers are advancing next-generation nuclear technologies, BWXT delivers fuel engineered for the mission.
Proven, Scalable
TRISO Manufacturing
At BWXT’s NRC Category 1–licensed Specialty Fuels Fabrication Facility in Lynchburg, Virginia, we’ve spent decades refining TRISO fuel production for commercial deployment. Through the Department of Energy’s Advanced Gas Reactor program, we’ve demonstrated production-scale capability, repeatability and high-assurance quality.
Our capabilities include:
- Integrated particle fabrication, coating, compacting and inspection
- DOE and NRC-aligned process control and quality assurance systems
- Advanced particle characterization
- Scalable manufacturing for commercial and national security applications
BWXT is the first U.S. company to manufacture irradiation-tested uranium oxycarbide TRISO fuel using production-scale equipment.
Collaborating Today to Expand Tomorrow’s TRISO Supply
Reliable fuel supply is fundamental to deploying advanced reactors. BWXT collaborates with leading developers like Kairos Power to refine manufacturing methods, qualify next-generation fuels and prepare for commercial-scale production. BWXT provides the coated-particle fuel expertise, pilot-scale capabilities and commercial-quality systems that help accelerate Kairos Power’s fluoride-salt-cooled reactor program.
Fuel particle manufacturing
and fabrication experience
Support for fuel development
and pilot-scale production
Quality and reliability frameworks for
future commercial deployment
Together, BWXT and Kairos Power are enabling a new class of safe, efficient and scalable advanced reactors. Building on more than 20 years of TRISO experience, BWXT is also evaluating a new TRISO fuel fabrication facility in Gillette, Wyoming, to serve future U.S. demand.
at a Kairos Power facility.
in Kairos Power's Albuquerque's Pebble Development Lab.
Project Pele: Delivering TRISO Fuel for the Most Demanding Missions
In 2025, BWXT manufactured and delivered the complete core of TRISO fuel compacts for Project Pele, the Department of War’s first transportable microreactor program. The milestone demonstrated BWXT’s ability to deliver qualified TRISO fuel for some of the nation’s most demanding applications.
Advancing Next-Generation Reactors
BWXT supplied TRISO fuel that supported Antares Nuclear in achieving the first U.S. criticality of a new non-light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Our customers benefit from:
- Fuel design integration support
- Qualification and testing license expertise
- Scalable production planning
Why BWXT?
Proven TRISO manufacturing experience
Secure U.S.-based fuel production
Qualified fuel backed by rigorous quality standards
Scalable manufacturing for commercial deployment
Customized to meet customer qualifications and specifications
Trusted partnerships across government and industry