The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractors are seeking new and innovative methods to tackle the challenges involved with addressing aging, contaminated structures that date back to the Manhattan Project and Cold War.
Office of Environmental Management
October 22, 2024
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A view of the interior of the facility undergoing upgrades to become the Technology Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge. Workers are set to remove the steel ramp, shown at bottom right, to provide a more open floor plan.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and its contractors are seeking new and innovative methods to tackle the challenges involved with addressing aging, contaminated structures that date back to the Manhattan Project and Cold War.
A project underway will provide the space necessary to test promising technologies aimed at advancing complex cleanup projects in Oak Ridge. OREM and contractor UCOR are creating an onsite testbed facility called the Technology Demonstration Facility.
“The goal of this facility is to provide space to collaborate with other agencies and companies and ultimately help us develop solutions more rapidly,” said Elizabeth Phillips, OREM’s lead for technology development.
Crews are clearing the way to install a large overhead door in the new Technology Demonstration Facility that will provide easier access for future testbed operations.
Crews have begun repurposing the facility previously used for storage. Measuring more than 12,000 square feet, the building boasts plenty of room for a wide range of experiments and demonstrations required for technology development.
During renovation for the new Technology Demonstration Facility, workers are installing a large overhead door and an entryway to provide easy access to the facility. Crews are also upgrading the electrical service, adding a fire suppression system, enhancing lighting in the demonstration area and installing a remote office trailer.
Measuring more than 12,000 square feet, the future Technology Demonstration Facility boasts plenty of space for a wide range of demonstrations and experiments to test new technologies.
“The location just outside the security footprint provides easier access for academic investigators and the U.S. Department of Energy’s laboratories and contractors to test solutions and mature their products and research,” said UCOR Technology Development Program Manager Boaz Buechley.
Construction of the facility is scheduled to be complete next spring, and operations are expected to begin next summer.
-Contributor: Susanne Dupes
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