BWX Technologies (BWXT) won a $1.5 billion contract from the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration to build and operate a uranium enrichment plant in Erwin, Tennessee.

The award covers design, licensing, equipment procurement and demonstration of centrifuge technology under the Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment, an initiative to boost capabilities for national defense, BWX said Tuesday in a statement.

The company began construction in June on a separate centrifuge manufacturing development facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which will supply the Erwin site.

"Once operational, both facilities will enable us to scale manufacturing, so the United States maintains sovereign capability to produce vital nuclear materials for national security," BWX Chief Executive Officer Rex Geveden said in the statement.