BWXT opens Innovation Campus in Virginia

Friday, 28 March 2025

BWXT's Advanced Technologies team designs, builds and tests new nuclear solutions. The labs and workshops at the new campus will be used to design, build and test advanced nuclear systems for NASA, the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, national research labs, state governments and commercial applications, the company said.

The team is supporting NASA and the Department of Energy's work on nuclear thermal propulsion, a project it has been involved with since 2017. BWXT is also part of a joint venture selected in 2023 to deliver the fuel and reactor for the DARPA DRACO programme to develop a nuclear thermal rocket engine for an in-space demonstration.

The Advanced Technologies team is also working on the BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor, a high-temperature gas reactor that is being designed to produce 50 MWt using TRISO fuel, and small enough to be transported by rail, ship or truck.

The Innovation Campus is also working on Project Pele, a Department of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office initiative to develop and deploy a prototype mobile microreactor to provide clean, reliable energy meeting mission-critical power demands.

In 2021, BWXT was awarded local and state tax grants worth up to USD2 million for the initiative, tied to an investment target of USD65 million and hiring target of 97 new employees. Since then, BWXT has hired an additional 115 employees and, by the end of 2024, it had invested USD51 million in the site and received USD227,000 in tax incentives. The Commonwealth of Virginia's grant payment is expected in the second quarter of 2026, the company said.

"The opening of the BWXT Innovation Campus in Lynchburg highlights Virginia’s leadership in advanced nuclear technologies and our commitment to fostering innovation that drives economic growth and contributes to America’s national security," Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin said at the opening ceremony for the new campus.

BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said the facility is a long-term investment, not only in BWXT, but also in Lynchburg and the Commonwealth of Virginia. "Here in this Innovation Campus, our Advanced Technologies team is undertaking projects that are pushing the boundaries of nuclear technology and the domains of application. We are very excited for the future we are creating here."

More than 350 team members will be based on the campus.