Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and its collaborators developed 3D-printed composite forms that could speed up the construction of advanced nuclear facilities, cutting the time needed to produce specialized molds from about six months to about two weeks.

The project, titled “Advanced Composite Formwork for Accelerated High-Precision Nuclear Infrastructure,” received the 2026 CAMX Combined Strength Award. The team developed a digital manufacturing process that combines large-scale 3D printing and precision machining to produce reusable forms for shaping concrete in nuclear construction.

The technology has progressed to full-scale demonstrations at Kairos Power’s Oak Ridge campus in Tennessee, where the company’s Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is under construction.

Conventional formwork holds wet concrete in place until it hardens. Nuclear facilities can require specialized molds capable of producing complex geometries with tight dimensional tolerances while withstanding substantial pressure from the concrete.

The ORNL-led team developed fiber-reinforced composite forms that can be manufactured for geometries that are difficult to produce using conventional steel molds. These include interlocking joints designed to support grout-free assembly of radiation-shielding panels.

According to ORNL, the reusable forms can be designed, 3D printed, and delivered in about two weeks, compared with approximately six months for conventional steel molds. The forms achieved a reported precision of one-sixteenth of an inch on critical surfaces while withstanding the pressure exerted by the concrete they shape.

The approach could help construction teams produce specialized components more quickly and adapt designs without waiting months for new steel tooling.

The team demonstrated the technology through a cast-in-place concrete shielding structure known as the Janus demonstration at Kairos Power’s Oak Ridge campus.

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