Fuel Fabrication & Supply

Precision Coated Particle Fuel Manufacturing, Built to Scale

From high-density uranium kernels to final fuel pebbles and compacts, TRISO-X is designed to deliver cost-competitive nuclear fuel solutions for power, industry, defense, and space.

Commercial-Scale TRISO Fuel Fabrication for Advanced Reactors

TRISO-X provides turnkey TRISO manufacturing services tailored to a customer’s exact reactor design. By surrounding uranium kernels with microscopic ceramic containment layers, our coated particle fuel is engineered at the most fundamental levels of design for intrinsic safety features, high efficiency, and reliable long-term performance.

Core Fabrication

Our proprietary sol-gel and coating processes are built on almost a decade of pilot-scale production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, solving decades-old fabrication challenges to achieve tighter tolerances and higher material yield at commercial volume.

  • Uranium Kernel Fabrication: Custom synthesis of uranium-bearing kernels tailored to client specifications.
  • Coated Particle Customization: Precise layering of the protective carbon and ceramic shells that encase each fuel particle including BISO layers, TRISO layers, porous buffer carbon, pyrolytic carbon, silicon carbide, zirconium carbide, and high-temperature refractory ceramic layers.
  • Overcoating & Matrix Production: Advanced overcoating layer application and high-purity graphite matrix powder processing.
  • Versatile Fuel Forms: Fabrication of finished fuel elements in spherical pebbles of various diameters or cylindrical compacts of custom dimensions.
  • Enrichment Flexibility: Production line capability with both non-uranium surrogate materials for prototyping, or high-assay low-enriched uranium enriched up to 19.75% U-235.

Production

Located at the Horizon Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, our TX-1 and TX-2 facilities aim to establish a first-ever U.S. commercial supply of TRISO fuel. By building on laboratory-proven processes, our production capabilities provide a long-term pathway to high-efficiency, cost-competitive advanced nuclear fuel solution.

  • TX-1 Commercial Capacity: Engineered to output 5 metric tons of uranium (MTU) annually in finished fuel form.
  • TX-2 Scale Expansion: Designed to produce 20 MTU annually, providing fuel volume for commercial, advanced reactor fleets.
  • Flexible Order Volume: Processing capability for custom order sizes ranging from 400g testing batches up to 1,000 kg commercial core loads.
  • TRISO Fuel Quality Control: Standardized process controls designed to ensure particle-to-particle uniformity across surrogate runs and HALEU enrichment levels up to 19.75%.

Facility & Licensing

With a Category II Special Nuclear Material License from the NRC, Our Oak Ridge fuel campus is authorized to receive and process large quantities of HALEU directly at the fabrication site, following completion and final inspection. TRISO-X is the first U.S. company to secure this authorization through the standard commercial licensing route, leading the industry toward a reliable domestic fuel supply.

  • NRC Part 70 License: Holds a 40-year Special Nuclear Material License from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to receive, possess, and process uranium enriched up to 19.75% HALEU.
  • Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Licensing: Purpose-built infrastructure meeting Category II regulatory compliance for full-scale fuel manufacturing.
  • Nuclear Construction Capability: Facility design validated to rigorous QA/QC safety standards, reducing licensing hurdles for co-located or regional operations.

Continuous Fuel Supply

TRISO-X manages long-term fuel logistics to keep client facilities operating without interruption. We support our clients from initial core loads into operational maintenance, including necessary logistics along the way.

  • Initial Core Startup Loads: Full fabrication, packaging, and delivery of initial core loads for new reactor commissioning.
  • Continuous Nuclear Fuel Supply: Scheduled operational supply campaigns aligned with client refuel cycles and dynamic power requirements.
  • On-Site Fuel Storage: Secure staging and inventory management for raw material feedstocks and finished fuel prior to shipment.