Quick Summary
• ORNL Wins 2026 SME Award for Using 3D Printed Molds to Speed Nuclear Reactor Construction April 28
Additional Context
A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory has won the 2026 SME Aubin Additive Manufacturing Case Study Award for using large-format 3D printing to produce molds for advanced nuclear reactor construction, a method the lab says could shave weeks off build schedules while cutting costs.
DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility led the project, working with the University of Maine, Kairos Power, and other industry partners to print composite molds for concrete radiation shielding structures used in Kairos Power’s modular reactor program. The molds shaped bio-shield strongback columns measuring roughly 8 feet by 8 feet by 20 feet, and shielding wall panels up to 27 feet long with complex interlocking joints that reduced or eliminated the need for grout between pieces.
Construction has long