Amentum joint venture named preferred supplier for Sellafield program valued at up to US$2.78B
Amentum says Sellafield's PACE framework would run for nine years, with an option to extend it by six years.
Ines Halvorsen
Sept. 30 brought preferred-supplier status on a UK nuclear program valued at up to US$2.78 billion for a venture of Amentum Holdings, Inc. NYSEAMTM. The Sept. 30 Amentum release gives the equivalent ceiling as £2.1 billion but no figure for Amentum's economic share. Sellafield Ltd is the customer for a nine-year initial term and an optional six-year extension.
Amentum shares closed at US$18.15 in New York at 4 p.m. EDT on Sept. 29 NYSEAMTM, before the announcement. That price cannot measure a market response to the Sept. 30 selection. Amentum's Sept. 30 release gave no contract signing date.
The framework, known as PACE, covers asset care and new asset work tied to Sellafield's spent fuel management and retrievals mission. Amentum said its proposed scope spans engineering and design, procurement, installation, plant modification, project controls, commissioning, dismantling and removal. The work includes continuing care for existing assets, so the framework spans services over years rather than a single equipment delivery.
The release gives no start date for installation or commissioning. It also does not attach a price or exercise date to the optional six-year extension.
Formal Award Awaits Final Contract Terms
Amentum said OneAxIoM is slated to deliver Lot 1 of PACE, with additional supply-chain partners supporting the work. The Sept. 30 release gives no separate value for Lot 1 or figure for Amentum's share of venture revenue. The US$2.78 billion figure therefore describes a program ceiling, subject to final award, rather than a signed revenue commitment to Amentum.
"PACE provides a significant, long-term growth opportunity for Amentum at Sellafield, building on our existing capability and relationships while also enabling us to deliver a broader, integrated full lifecycle scope on higher value projects across engineering and asset care," Amentum chief executive John Heller said in the Sept. 30 release.
Sellafield's government profile says the operator works with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The same profile identifies nuclear waste management, high-hazard risk reduction and major projects among the operator's priorities. Amentum's release puts this prospective work within the spent fuel mission; it does not identify a specific retrieval plant, commissioning date or equipment delivery deadline for OneAxIoM.
Amentum says it already supplies engineering design, safety-case and project-management services at Sellafield and other UK nuclear decommissioning sites. Its Sept. 30 release also says it employs more than 6,000 people in the UK.
At Hinkley Point C, it describes project and construction management work; at Sizewell C, program and project management. Neither role establishes the value of PACE work that Amentum would receive. The new framework still requires final contractual arrangements before formal award.
Read more: GE Vernova advances 300 MW reactor design as NRC grants TVA permit
The next milestone is agreement on final terms and Sellafield's formal framework award. The Sept. 30 release gives no date for either step; the nine-year initial term and program valuation of up to £2.1 billion remain prospective until formal award.
