Metal Powder Works has moved into the next phase of its multi-year collaboration with Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC), focused on further optimization of powder feedstock for advanced nuclear applications. The three-month contract extension builds directly on the results of two prior successful development phases.
At the heart of the agreement is MPW’s patented DirectPowder™ process, which converts metal bar stock into high-quality powder feedstock, including specialty alloys such as CP-Ti and Zircaloy, without melting or contamination. The goal: to advance the Technology Readiness Level of components under development and improve end-product performance.
For Managing Director John Barnes: “This follow-on contract with Westinghouse highlights the solid performance of our DirectPowder™ process and the hard work of our combined technical teams. This continued confidence from WEC highlights that our powder works as expected and can meet their exacting requirements, exceeding the capability of legacy atomized powder methods.”
For those following Westinghouse’s AM journey through our coverage, this partnership fits a consistent pattern. Since installing its first 3D-printed thimble plugging device at Exelon’s Byron Unit 1 in 2020, Westinghouse has steadily deepened its commitment to additive manufacturing, from qualifying fuel debris filters to reaching the milestone of its 1,000th 3D-printed fuel flow plate in March 2024, and more recently, additively manufactured bottom nozzles designed to improve safety in operating reactors.
What this latest development suggests is that the qualification pipeline is maturing. Westinghouse is embedding AM into its supply chain, step by validated step. MPW’s repeated contract demonstrates that powder quality and process consistency are increasingly meeting the exacting standards the nuclear sector demands.
Watch here: The use of AM in the nuclear industry and its hidden complexities
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