ORNL and Dimensional Energy develop scalable ceramic AM components for reactors
In collaboration with chemical technology and engineering company Dimensional Energy, scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have integrated binder jet Additive Manufacturing with an advanced post-processing method to fabricate leak-tight ceramic components, addressing a key challenge of ceramic AM.
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While ceramic components perform exceptionally well in extreme environments, exhibiting high temperature resistance, chemical stability and mechanical strength, current methods of ceramic AM are not easily scalable, limiting their use in critical applications such as high-throughput chemical reactors, which are used for pharmaceutical or chemical processing, where large, leak-proof parts are essential.
ORNL’s innovative solution provides a scalable method for creating complex ceramic structures by leveraging a robust joining technique that enables smaller additively manufactured pieces to be assembled to create the required components.
“Ceramic 3D printing allows fabrication of intricate and high-performance components that are difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing methods,” said researcher Trevor Aguirre with ORNL’s Extreme Environment Materials Process Group. “This advancement provides a validated methodology to produce high-quality components — and enable the development of next-generation reactors.”
ORNL partnered with Dimensional Energy, the originator behind the method, to perform a comprehensive case study. The team evaluated multiple design configurations to pinpoint optimal structures that inherently ensure gas-tight integrity. In addition, the team developed advanced post-processing techniques to improve the bonding and sealing of ceramic segments.
Not only does the innovation help meet the increasing demand for large-scale components, but it also leverages cost-efficient Binder Jetting where powder layers are fused with a binder to create solid objects. This method offers substantial economic benefits and may facilitate broader industrial adoption of ceramic AM in other high-performance applications such as aerospace, among others.
This is reportedly the first known leak-tight joint fabricated using AM methods, paving the way for scalable BJAM assemblies.
The collaborative team received SME’s 2025 Dick Aubin Distinguished Paper Award for this research, which recognises significant contributions to AM. The team also has related research published in the Ceramics International journal.
Lead PI Bradley Brennan, chief science officer for Dimensional Energy, shared, “Dimensional Energy believes that ceramics have the potential to fill niche applications as components of a chemical refinery, with many properties vastly superior to metal alloys.”
“However, manufacturing of large and complex parts is a challenge, and sealing parts together to form a robust and leak-tight connection is equally difficult. Dr Bhargavi Mummareddy, award-winning Additive Manufacturing expert at Dimensional Energy, was tasked with pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and she surpassed all our goals alongside the talented ORNL team,” Brennan added.
Researchers who contributed to this project include Trevor Aguirre, Dylan Richardson, Corson Cramer, Amy Elliott and Kashif Nawaz from ORNL, along with Bhargavi Mummareddy, Franklin Milton and Bradley Brennan from Dimensional Energy.
The project was funded by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, where this work was conducted, is supported by DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and acts as a nationwide consortium of collaborators focused on innovating, inspiring and catalysing the transformation of US manufacturing.
