Printing the Future of Nuclear Power

NX Atomics and Sciaky deploy EBAM technology on SMR components, a first for commercial nuclear manufacturing

16 Jun 2026

One of nuclear power's least glamorous problems is also among its most stubborn. Reactor components require long lead times, specialised suppliers, and exacting standards. The result is predictable: projects run late, costs swell, and investors grow nervous. A new partnership between NX Atomics and Sciaky, announced on June 2nd, 2026, takes direct aim at this supply-chain inertia by applying electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) to components for NX Atomics' VELA reactor.

EBAM is not new. Sciaky's wire-fed electron beam process can deposit large metal structures far faster than conventional forging or casting. What is new is its application to commercial nuclear production at scale. The collaboration, which also involves Morphix Metals on materials qualification, represents the first recorded use of the technique in this context.

John Warden, chief executive of NX Atomics, was direct about the intent. "This is what bringing nuclear manufacturing into the modern era actually looks like," he said. "3D printing opens up the potential for us to produce nuclear-qualified parts faster and at lower cost."

The ambition is pointed because the problem is real. A narrow base of legacy suppliers, combined with demanding fabrication requirements, has long compressed margins and stretched schedules across the sector. Proving that EBAM can meet nuclear-grade qualification standards would widen that supplier base considerably, reducing dependence on established manufacturers and giving developers more pricing leverage.

For investors, the implications are worth watching. Faster part production compresses project timelines, which in turn improves the economics of deployment at a moment when demand for reliable, low-carbon baseload power is rising. Should VELA serve as a successful testbed, other small modular reactor developers may face pressure to follow. Regulators, too, will need to decide how they treat additively manufactured components, a question that remains unsettled in most jurisdictions.

Whether EBAM delivers on its targets at nuclear-qualified standards remains to be seen. The physics are promising. The paperwork, as ever in nuclear, will take longer.