AIKEN, S.C. – After more than 560,000 work hours and five years of strategic planning, personnel from the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Savannah River Tritium Enterprise (SRTE), have successfully achieved the production of War Reserve quality tritium with the replacement of key components vital to sustaining the nation’s tritium supply needs. The achievement—referred to as the Calendar Year 2025 (CY25) Outage—was completed on schedule and without interruptions of delivering tritium-filled reservoirs to the U.S. military.
“This milestone represents one of the most significant accomplishments in the history of SRTE,” said SRNS Senior Vice President of Tritium Operations and Programs Nick Miller. “This achievement is a testament of how we can take on complex, mission-critical challenges and deliver exceptional results that strengthen the nation’s defense. I could not be prouder of our team for the immense effort and collaboration they poured into this project over the past five years. Their commitment to excellence and their ability to adapt to every challenge is what made this success possible. It’s a legacy we can all take pride in for years to come.”
The $125 million project required replacing Cold War-era equipment vital for supplying high-quality tritium to the Department of War. Adding to project complexity, workers had to raise and lower both old and new equipment through a rarely used access hatch. The hatch removal was simulated extensively prior to the actual evolution to ensure a safe and controlled evolution. After successful removal of the hatch, legacy equipment was removed, new equipment was carefully lowered into the facility, and the hatch was securely replaced—all within a tight 48-hour window.
“It’s like rebuilding a ship inside a glass bottle,” said SRTE Area Operations Manager Kevin Cross. “Every move required orchestration down to the finest detail. Engineering, technicians and rigging teams collaborated—mapping out every angle, clearance and load limit. It was a testament to teamwork, innovation and precision planning.”
Outage planning began in 2020 with a detailed schedule of six critical milestones developed to ensure smooth execution. Critical to execution was a 3D-printed mockup of a valve station, allowing Design and Construction personnel to streamline execution by planning for constructability and practice equipment installation, identifying potential challenges in the process.
“Based on mission needs and production directives, 2025 was identified as the ideal time to perform this crucial maintenance,” said CY25 Project Manager Charlene Hidlay. “In 2020, we initiated detailed planning for the six projects to be executed simultaneously in 2025 with support from our National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) customer. The CY25 project received excellent support from all facets of operations while the facility continued to produce products. This was an excellent integrated team effort.”
In all, 3,600 feet of pipe; 1,425 fittings; two miles of cable; 6,500 feet of conduit; and 4,400 welds supported the replacement and functionality of the equipment.
The necessity for personnel to work in respiratory protection and plastic suits added an additional layer of complexity to an already intricate task. Personnel logged more than 16,000 hours wearing these protective suits, with more than 5,000 suits designed specifically for this project.
Team members from Engineering, Construction, Rigging, Maintenance, along with the Radiological Protection Department and other organizations across the Site, worked in close collaboration to ensure the project’s success.
“This milestone represents a pivotal achievement in maintaining the operational readiness of the United States’ nuclear deterrent,” said SRNS President and CEO Jeff Griffin. “It reflects our commitment to national security and the exceptional skill and dedication of the teams behind this effort, reaffirming our responsibility to secure our nation’s nuclear capabilities.”
SRNS collaborated closely with its landlord and operator, NNSA, to ensure all mission requirements were fully addressed during the outage.
“When an emergent issue arose during the outage, NNSA demonstrated their unwavering commitment by facilitating a rapid turnaround on a critical Safety Basis Change, ensuring the project stayed on track,” said CY25 Project Owner Chris Garnett. “From start to finish, their partnership was indispensable to the success of the outage.”
“I am pleased to announce the successful on-time completion of the CY25 Outage,” said NNSA Savannah River Field Office Manager Michael Mikolanis. “Our dedicated SRNS team executed critical modernization upgrades with precision and unwavering commitment to ensure the facility’s continued operation for years to come. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and expertise of all those involved, and it reflects the well-coordinated team effort between NNSA and SRNS partners.”
SRTE, operated by SRNS for the NNSA, provides the nation’s sole source of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that plays a crucial role in the functionality of nuclear weapons. This accomplishment highlights SRNS’ commitment to addressing infrastructure needs, in order to help sustain a reliable nuclear stockpile.
Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and militarily effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, South Carolina.
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