Nuclear fuel company announces Oak Ridge plant, 400 jobs

TRISO-X LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-energy LLC, has announced the company will be locating at the Oak Ridge Horizon Center Industrial Park to build the country’s first commercial advanced High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) based nuclear reactor fuel fabrication facility of its kind. Initial plans call for a 500,000-square-foot facility employing approximately 400 people. The facility will use uranium enriched to less than 20% to manufacture nuclear fuel products for a variety of advanced and small modular reactors, plus specialty fuels for space nuclear projects. The TF3 is being commissioned through part of $1.1 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). Scheduled for commissioning and startup as early as 2025, the TRISO-X Fuel Fabrication Facility (TF3). Site preparation and construction are expected to begin later this year.