Submarine Contractor Sets Sights on Building First US Next-Generation Nuclear Reactor
BWX Techologies is tapping decades of expertise supplying nuclear systems to the US Navy.
A USS Ohio class submarine.
Photographer: Dave Fliesen/U.S. Navy/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A defense contractor that supplied components for the earliest nuclear submarines will be tapping its military expertise to enter the race to build the next generation of nuclear reactors.
BWX Technologies Inc. expects to complete a working prototype of a small, advanced reactor under a $300-million contract with the US Department of Defense. Providing power plants to the military will facilitate the company’s efforts to build a commercial version that could be ready by the end of the decade, according to Joe Miller, president of BWX’s advanced technologies unit.