Miles Jamison 
BWX Technologies has opened a new Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility, or CMDF, advancing efforts to restore a U.S.-based uranium enrichment capability aligned with national security requirements.
What Is the Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility?
BWXT said Monday the CMDF functions as its central hub for designing, engineering, fabricating and testing advanced gas centrifuge systems. The site includes areas for precision manufacturing, in-house quality assurance and testing, along with infrastructure to support future centrifuge production and advance the technology toward production readiness, in alignment with national priorities for energy security, defense readiness and advanced manufacturing.
The Oak Ridge, Tennessee-based facility supports BWXT’s defense, energy and space programs and employs about 100 professionals, with staffing expected to grow as manufacturing activities expand.
“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. 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,” said Rex Geveden, president and CEO of BWXT.
How Will CMDF Support National Security?
The facility supports a broader uranium enrichment initiative under a $1.5 billion contract awarded to BWXT in September by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The program is intended to ensure a secure and reliable domestic supply of enriched uranium for U.S. defense fuel needs.
