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US Oak Ridge National Laboratory Advances 3D-Printed Nuclear Components Manufacturing and Certification

The US Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is working with industry partners to advance the application of advanced manufacturing technologies, with a focus on heavy-duty 3D printing, AI-driven automated manufacturing, and digital qualification methods, to address issues such as unstable US industrial supply chains, shortages of skilled workers, and long lead times for large custom components. At an advanced manufacturing facility in Tennessee, ORNL demonstrated two large-scale 3D printing manufacturing cases for the nuclear energy sector. Among them, a three-arm robotic system called MedUSA printed a steel nuclear pressure vessel approximately 3 feet by 5 feet with complex dome geometry by guiding molten steel. Researchers said...

2026-09-10

Demolition Begins on Contaminated Buildings in Isotope Area at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Oak Ridge Environmental Management Office in Tennessee recently initiated demolition of a group of highly contaminated buildings in the Isotope Area at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Located in the laboratory's central campus, this area is considered one of the more challenging sites in the local cleanup effort. The Isotope Area comprises 10 facilities, constructed between the late 1940s and early 1960s, which once served the laboratory's isotope program. These facilities were used for decades in the production, processing, and research of chemical elements for medical, industrial, and scientific applications. As the laboratory evolved, the facilities were taken out of service in the early 1990s but remained standing. According to reports, the area retains contaminated...

2026-09-02

New Analytical Laboratory Completed at Oak Ridge to Support U-233 Cleanup and Medical Isotope Supply

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Environmental Management Office (OREM) and its contractor Isotek Systems completed installation of a new analytical laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on August 25, 2026. The laboratory will support ORNL's highest-priority environmental cleanup project and accelerate delivery of critical medical isotope materials for cancer treatment research. Isotek Systems is responsible for removing the U.S. uranium-233 inventory stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Uranium-233 was primarily developed in the 1950s and 1960s, initially intended for use as nuclear reactor fuel, but was later proven unsuitable as a commercial fuel source...

2026-08-26

Two U.S. National Laboratories Collaborate to Advance Arc-Based 3D Printing of Nuclear Pressure Vessels

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL), both under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced a collaboration focused on advancing wire-arc 3D printing technology for industrial pressure vessels and qualification capabilities for critical nuclear components, aiming to expand the U.S. domestic supply chain. The two laboratories unveiled the collaboration during the Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Day event hosted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on August 19. The event focused on topics such as advanced manufacturing, nuclear infrastructure, energy security, and domestic supply chains, and featured demonstrations and tours of the DOE Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF). This facility is a large-scale research platform open to industry, primarily...

2026-08-22

US Oak Ridge National Laboratory Advances Radioisotope Nuclear Battery Development

On August 17, 2026, the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory stated that its nuclear battery program is advancing the development of radioisotope power systems to meet the demand for stable, long-life power sources in deep space exploration, long-term power supply in remote areas, and national security-related scenarios. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover poses with several of the 10 sample tubes it placed in a sample depot it established in a region of Jezero Crater called "Three Forks." The rover's radioisotope thermoelectric generator is powered by a nuclear battery. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Nuclear batteries generate electricity from the energy released by the decay of radioisotopes, making them suitable for environments such as the seafloor, remote deserts, and extraterrestrial surfaces where maintenance is difficult and continuous power supply is needed for years or even decades.

2026-08-19

Oak Ridge National Laboratory marks 80 years of isotope research and production, with applications spanning medicine, industry, and scientific research

On August 2, 1946, the Clinton Laboratories in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, held the first formal ceremony to deliver reactor-produced radioactive isotopes. A shipment of carbon-14 was sent from there to the Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the past 80 years, this event has been regarded as the starting point of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's isotope research and production endeavors, and also marked the beginning of broader civilian applications for reactor-produced radioactive isotopes. After World War II, the U.S. scientific community began exploring peaceful uses of atomic energy, with radioactive isotopes becoming an important direction. As unstable variants of elements, radioactive isotopes release radiation during decay and can be used...

2026-08-15

TRISO-X and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Extend Advanced Nuclear Fuel R&D Collaboration

TRISO-X announced on August 11 that it has extended its Collaborative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The newly signed agreement has a term of 30 months and will continue to advance commercial-scale development of TRISO fuel, manufacturing process optimization, and technology transfer, building on the collaboration established since 2016. TRISO-X is a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-energy, primarily engaged in advanced nuclear fuel manufacturing. Under the agreement, TRISO-X will continue to operate its existing pilot-scale facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with a focus on transitioning TRISO fuel from laboratory R&D to commercial-scale manufacturing. The collaboration includes optimizing fuel...

2026-08-12

US Oak Ridge National Laboratory Restarts Tungsten-188/Rhenium-188 Generator Production to Support Targeted Cancer Therapy Research

The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently restarted and upgraded its tungsten-188/rhenium-188 (W-188/Re-188) generator manufacturing operations to meet the demand for the rare medical isotope rhenium-188 in targeted cancer therapy research. The laboratory last manufactured such generators in 2011. Radiochemist Becca Hores demonstrated the assembly process of the W-188/Re-188 generator. Depending on radioactivity levels, these generators must be assembled in gloveboxes or hot cells. Image credit: Maggie Gregg/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy. Rhenium-188 is produced by the radioactive decay of tungsten-188. ORNL irradiates tungsten-186 in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to produce tungsten-188...

2026-08-12

Kyoto Fusioneering to Relocate U.S. Headquarters to Oak Ridge

Kyoto Fusioneering (KF) will relocate its U.S. headquarters to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, investing $46.9 million in Anderson County and creating 51 new jobs. The project will build critical fusion testing infrastructure, with a focus on supporting the development of the fusion nuclear testing facility UNITY-3. UNITY-3 is planned to be built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) through a public-private partnership. The facility has received support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and has been listed as a national priority in its final "Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap." According to the plan, UNITY-3 will employ a deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion neutron source to validate tritium breeding capabilities and related performance under conditions approaching a real fusion nuclear environment...

2026-08-11

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Licenses Cryogenic Fuel Pellet Technology to Type One Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has licensed a suite of cryogenic fuel pellet injection technologies to Type One Energy to advance fuel supply capabilities needed for high-performance fusion plasma operations. The two parties signed the licensing agreement on August 5 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The license covers four ORNL inventions, primarily related to the design and operation of cryogenic fuel pellet injection systems. The technology forms solid hydrogen isotope fuel pellets at cryogenic temperatures near absolute zero and injects them into fusion plasma at high speeds. Compared with methods such as gas injection, pellet injection is more effective at delivering fuel deeper into the plasma...

2026-08-06

US Oak Ridge National Laboratory Advances New Process to Boost Californium-252 Production

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), under the US Department of Energy, is advancing a new Californium-252 (Cf-252) separation process to address growing market demand. The laboratory stated that this process, developed over nearly a decade of research, is expected to shorten the Cf-252 production cycle by about one week, significantly improving processing efficiency without altering product quality. Californium-252 is a neutron-emitting radioisotope used in nuclear reactor startup, fuel testing for new reactors, as well as in oil well logging, coal analysis, port security, fuel rod scanners, and instrument calibration. ORNL noted that it is the only producer of Cf-252 in the Western world...

2026-08-05

DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and REV Advance Shared Fusion Test Platform Construction

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and fusion energy consulting and investment firm Rutherford Energy Ventures (REV) have officially launched a new public-private partnership framework development effort to build shared fusion test platform infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The collaboration framework, named the Fusion Accelerated Scaling Leverage Alliance (FULCRA), aims to explore new design and financing models for the proposed Fulcrum test facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, addressing critical capability gaps identified in the DOE's Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap...

2026-07-29