In a bold step toward transforming how nuclear infrastructure is built, the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, or MDF, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in partnership with Kairos Power and Barnard Construction, has successfully developed and validated large-scale, 3D-printed polymer composite forms for casting complex, high-precision concrete structures that would be technically challenging and costly to produce using conventional methods. The concrete forms are being used at Kairos Power’s Oak Ridge campus, where the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is currently under construction—a milestone for the future of American nuclear energy.
3D printing reshapes construction for nuclear energy
