3D Systems Partners with Savannah River Lab on Nuclear and Defense 3D Printing

A Formal Framework for Lab-to-Factory Translation

3D Systems and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement designed to push additive manufacturing into energy and national security applications. The agreement was announced on August 27, 2026, and it covers advanced materials development, process optimization using AI and machine learning, equipment enhancements, cybersecurity, and workforce development.

SRNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy. Its 3D printing facility already uses 3D Systems' Figure 4 platforms. The new CRADA formalizes and expands that relationship, creating an umbrella structure for multiple initiatives instead of a single one-off project.

Nuclear-Grade Materials and Extreme Environments

A major focus is the nuclear sector. The collaboration will explore advanced alloys and specialty materials that can survive extreme temperatures, radiation exposure, and complex performance requirements. Those conditions are standard inside nuclear reactors and waste processing systems, yet they remain difficult for conventional manufacturing to address economically.

Additive manufacturing offers a path to produce spare parts, R&D assemblies, and small components on demand, without the long lead times of custom forging or machining. For a laboratory managing the legacy of Cold War-era nuclear infrastructure, that flexibility is valuable.

Bridging Discovery and Deployment

3D Systems brings commercial scaling experience; SRNL brings scientific depth and government lab infrastructure. The partnership is explicitly designed to move technologies from research into real-world implementation. That translation step is where many promising lab results stall, and both organizations appear to have structured the CRADA to keep projects from dying in the gap.

Workforce development is also on the agenda. Advanced manufacturing skills are in short supply, and the CRADA includes plans to build engineering and scientific capability on both sides. If the collaboration produces new materials or new processes, those need people who can run them at scale.

The agreement runs open-ended, which means 3D Systems and SRNL can chase new opportunities as priorities shift. For an industry that often relies on short-term contracts, that long-horizon structure is unusual and potentially more productive.