NX Atomics partners with Sciaky to produce nuclear reactor components via 3D printing

NX Atomics, an advanced nuclear energy company, has partnered with Sciaky, Inc. to produce small modular reactor (SMR) components using Sciaky's electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) technology. John Warden, CEO of NX Atomics, stated that the collaboration aims to reduce unit costs across all SMRs by enabling faster and cheaper production of nuclear-grade parts. John Criso, CEO of Sciaky, noted that EBAM components are already used in commercial aircraft, naval vessels, and satellites, and that bringing this capability to U.S. clean energy infrastructure is a natural next step. The partnership marks the first known application of EBAM at scale for commercial nuclear power.

This deal fits the recurring pattern of cross-industry technology transfer, where a process proven in aerospace and defense—Sciaky's EBAM has supplied Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and NASA—is adapted for a new, highly regulated vertical. The energy segment, particularly nuclear, has been fragmented and early in AM adoption, constrained by qualification burdens and long procurement cycles. By leveraging DED's scale advantage, NX Atomics aims to address the core economic bottleneck of SMRs: high upfront capital costs driven by large, custom metal components with extended lead times. The move also reflects a broader trend of U.S.-based AM suppliers finding homes in domestically prioritized energy and defense supply chains, where material governance and repeatable factory output matter more than raw machine speed.

From a practical standpoint, the partnership's significance hinges on qualification. Sciaky's EBAM has a track record in aerospace and defense, but nuclear-grade certification—governed by ASME Section III or equivalent standards—is a distinct and demanding process. NX Atomics will need to demonstrate that EBAM-produced components meet the same mechanical and traceability requirements as forged or cast equivalents, and that the cost and lead-time advantages hold under production volumes. For the broader AM industry, this is a measured but meaningful step: DED's role in energy infrastructure has been mostly experimental, and a successful qualification path here could open a new, high-value demand vertical for large-format metal AM.