Governor Youngkin Champions Nuclear Innovation at BWXT’s New Facility

LYNCHBURG, VA – A first-of-its-kind facility is making waves not just locally but around the globe and beyond

BWXT celebrated the grand opening of its innovation campus on Wednesday.

“The future of military propulsion, the future of space exploration, is all grounded in nuclear,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said.

Nuclear energy is a field that is growing fast, and according to Governor Youngkin, it’s needed now more than ever.

“I firmly believe that we’re at a moment where we need to find that next big step in innovation, so that power will be affordable and reliable and increasingly clean,” Youngkin said.

Much of that work is being done at BWXT’s innovation campus.

President of BWXT Advanced Technologies Joe Miller gave us a tour of the facility.

The work the nearly 400 employees at the innovation campus do is intricate, focusing on nuclear reactors and cores.

But with partnerships with the Department of Defense and NASA, they’re achieving groundbreaking results.

Have the day's biggest stories arrive in your inbox every day at 8 p.m.

Email Address

Click here to sign up

“You have to have the right people, the right facilities and you have to have the experience that comes along with building reactors all day every day,” Miller said.

He says the demand for nuclear power grows by the day.

 “We decided as a company we have the expertise, we have the facilities, we have the desire to grow and innovate, we always have. How do we focus all that energy on the two most important prototypes this company has seen in 70 years? We built Advanced Technologies around that idea,” Miller said.

The campus in Lynchburg marks a step into the future. “Here is the first facility where we’re manufacturing nuclear reactors, and we’ve grown,” Miller said.

For the Commonwealth, the $50 million facility means a boost to the economy.

 But the impacts are wide-reaching.

“BWXT is such an anchor not just to the Lynchburg community but to the national security of our Navy and the rest of America’s capabilities. I want to make sure they know the Governor’s behind them, the state’s behind them,” Youngkin said.