The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site could see completion of its Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative this June at the nearby University of South Carolina-Aiken, a spokesperson said recently.
Construction of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative was 85% completed
In November 2024. Contractor North Wind Group started building it in March 2023 and will wrap up this summer at a cost of about $66 million, said SRS spokesperson Monte Volk.
That price tag is about $11 million more than the original $55 million cost projection. “Once the certificate of occupancy is issued, and the U.S. Department of Energy inspects and accepts the building, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) can begin to move all laboratory equipment and office furniture not associated with the build into the facility,” Volk said.
SRNL will operate the 60,000-square-foot facility, which was made possible via a public-private partnership between DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and the university. The college will house the advanced manufacturing building on its campus, about 20 miles from the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site.
The building will include bench labs, high bay labs, computational labs, and industrial engineering labs, according to DOE. About 100 SRNL scientists and engineers will work in the facility, focusing on program areas such as additive manufacturing, biomanufacturing, materials design and processing, automation, fusion fuel cycle, artificial intelligence, and operational technology cybersecurity.
DOE has said the facility at the university could make joint projects easier in some cases because outside researchers would not need security clearances to work outside the fence at Savannah River.
Multiple delays have occurred at the AMC, with completion time frames previously set in 2018 and 2023. Volk said these hold ups can be attributed to various issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and destruction due to Hurricane Ian in September 2022. These issues led to “associated supply chain disruptions that had a direct impact on the total cost and build timeline,” he said.
