Indiana-based startup NX Atomics and Chicago-based Sciaky have partnered to use Sciaky’s Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) to produce components for NX Atomics high-temperature small modular reactor (SMR) design. This agreement marks the first time that this heavy-industry 3D printing technology will be applied to commercial nuclear power production at this scale.
NX Atomics, which emerged from stealth in May, will integrate Sciaky’s EBAM technology into the production line of its VELA reactor platform. The VELA reactor fleet is engineered to bypass traditional grid networks, aiming to provide localised, direct baseload electricity and process heat specifically for heavy industrial plants and AI data centres at a target price below $20/MWh.
The Vela design utilises a lead-cooled system combined with a highly stable liquid metal fuel core. This configuration guarantees inherent, passive safety, high fuel efficiency, and prevents meltdowns. The lead-cooled, liquid metal fuel reactor operates by dissolving its nuclear fuel directly into a liquid metal matrix rather than enclosing solid fuel pellets inside metal cladding tubes. This fluid core is circulated directly through a reactor vessel and cooled by an independent loop of molten lead. By combining liquid metal fuel with a pure lead coolant, the system operates at atmospheric pressure and relies on natural physics for safety, eliminating the risk of a high-pressure explosion or core meltdown.
Its physical core is a monolithic structure engineered to be manufactured using Sciaky’s EBAM process, bypassing traditional multi-month metal forging and casting bottlenecks. The partnership enables a shift where specific reactor components are intentionally engineered for periodic replacement rather than lifetime service. This approach reduces initial capital expenditure and lowers long-term operational overheads.
Transitioning to large-scale additive manufacturing allows NX Atomics to bypass the massive lead times and retooling bottlenecks tied to traditional multi-month metal forging and casting processes. Sciaky’s EBAM Process uses a fully articulated moving electron beam gun to deposit metal wire feedstock layer-by-layer inside a vacuum chamber. Vela is ideal for large structural components, the system holds the largest build envelope in the world for 3D-printed metal, reaching parts up to 19 feet long. The system works natively with highly durable, nuclear-capable alloys like titanium, Inconel, stainless steel, and tantalum
“This is what bringing nuclear manufacturing into the modern era actually looks like,” said NX Atomics CEO John Warden. “3D printing opens up the potential for us to produce nuclear-qualified parts faster and at lower cost, where appropriate swap them out through life, and meaningfully reduce the unit cost of every small modular reactor we build.”
Through additive manufacturing, NX Atomics believes it can produce components faster, at less cost, and where appropriate designed to be replaced rather than last forever, lowering both the upfront capital cost and operating cost of its reactor fleet. Sciaky’s EBAM systems have produced titanium and specialty-alloy structural parts for Airbus, Lockheed Martin, the United States Navy, and NASA, among others. Across aerospace and defence, EBAM and related additive techniques have moved from prototype to full-rate production over the past decade.
“Sciaky has spent more than eight decades building the metal manufacturing technology that the world’s most demanding industries rely on,” said Sciaky CEO John Criso. “Our EBAM process produces parts that fly on commercial aircraft, sail on naval vessels, and orbit the earth. Bringing that capability into America’s clean energy infrastructure with NX Atomics is a natural next step, and we are proud that two Midwestern companies are leading this transition.”
NX Atomics has an extremely ambitious timeline. The commercialization roadmap for the VELA reactor platform is structured across four key phases, moving from additive manufacturing validation to field deployment. By leveraging Sciaky’s EBAM process, NX Atomics aims to condense the standard decade-long nuclear development cycle into a significantly shorter timeline.
Phase 1 (the next 18 months) will include printing the first sub-scale structural core components using Sciaky’s high-rate electron beam system to verify structural integrity under vacuum. The printed inconel and titanium reactor structures will be subjected to thermal stress testing to simulate the conditions of a lead-cooled system. Early digital-twin manufacturing data will be submitted to nuclear regulators to establish licensing pathways for 3D-printed containment boundaries.
Phase 2 (2-3 Years) will include building a full-scale, non-nuclear test loop using the modular component architecture. Non-radioactive liquid lead coolant will be circulated through the printed monolithic core structure at operational temperatures to test fluid dynamics. The modular replacement model will be validated by intentionally swapping out high-wear printed components after simulated stress periods.
Phase 3 (Target: 4-5 Years) Safety benchmarks will be finalised for the liquid metal fuel matrix contained within the Sciaky-printed vessel. The first fully operational, grid-ready VELA reactor module will be constructed. Localised regulatory sign-offs for off-grid deployment at pilot industrial locations will be secured.
Phase 4 (Target: 6+ Years) The first commercial VELA units will be deployed directly alongside AI data centres and heavy manufacturing facilities. Continuous 3D-printing assembly lines will be activated to manufacture multiple VELA core structures simultaneously. Operations will be scaled to achieve the targeted low-cost energy delivery for industrial microgrids.
However, lead cooling faces a number of obstacles. A lead-cooled reactor has to operate at significantly higher baseline temperatures just to keep the coolant from freezing solid. At the elevated temperatures required by pure lead, the liquid metal becomes intensely corrosive. It aggressively dissolves the nickel and chromium out of standard structural steels. Managing this requires precise, active oxygen-control systems to maintain a protective oxide layer on the metal surfaces.
Russia is currently constructing the world’s first lead-cooled fast reactor, the BREST-OD-300 slated to go operational by the late 2020s. NX Atomics’ six-year window assumes absolutely flawless execution, immediate capital backing, and a regulatory paradigm shift. Achieving Phase 4 (commercial power delivery) in the early 2030s would still be considered an historic engineering miracle.
The development of BREST did not start recently. It is the culmination of over 30 years of continuous research. To make BREST viable, Russia had to build an entire specialised industrial ecosystem. This included deploying the BOR-60 and BN-600 test reactors and other specialist facilities over decades to validate its fuel and other components. The project relies on billions of dollars in state-backed funding for its development.
NX Atomics is effectively betting that using Sciaky’s EBAM to print exotic materials like tantalum or inconel can shortcut the corrosion issues, and that their “disposable/replaceable component” strategy avoids the need to make parts survive 30+ years in liquid lead. Whether private venture capital and modern additive manufacturing can truly substitute for decades of state-sponsored institutional research remains a huge gamble.
