Strategic partnership combines ORNL's supercomputing and advanced manufacturing expertise with ARC's autonomous production platform to address critical defense industrial base shortfalls
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. and NEW YORK, April 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Autonomous Resource Corporation (ARC), a Delaware corporation, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the U.S. Department of Energy's largest multi-program science and energy laboratory, today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a strategic public-private partnership to accelerate the on-demand manufacture of qualified, mission-critical components for U.S. national security applications.
ORNL’s exascale supercomputer is delivering world-leading performance.
The partnership — known as the Exascale Foundry — will combine ORNL's computing and manufacturing capabilities with ARC's ARCNet distributed manufacturing platform to create a closed-loop system for AI-enabled materials and manufacturing qualification and autonomous production at defense-relevant scale.
"The United States faces an urgent need to rebuild its manufacturing capacity for critical defense components," said Bryan Wisk, CEO of ARC. "By combining ORNL's world-leading computational, materials science, and manufacturing capabilities with our autonomous production infrastructure, we can compress manufacturing and qualification timelines from years to months and deliver manufactured parts at the volumes the warfighter needs."
Partnership Highlights
Under the MOU, ARC will deploy advanced manufacturing equipment organized into seven production nodes connected to ORNL via ARC's secure ARCNet infrastructure. ARC will expand capability through ORNL's high-performance computing (HPC) resources.
ORNL will provide access to HPC expertise for simulation-driven materials characterization and qualification, along with technologies developed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), the Department of Energy's only large-scale, open-access advanced manufacturing facility. ORNL's Peregrine AI software, which has analyzed over 1.9 million additive manufacturing layers, will be integrated into ARC's production nodes for real-time adaptive control and quality assurance.
This partnership also supports DOE's Genesis Mission, a national initiative to build the world's most powerful scientific platform to accelerate discovery science, strengthen national security and drive energy innovation. ARC and ORNL's collective capabilities will help reenvision advanced manufacturing and industrial productivity, accelerate defense production and qualification, and secure critical supply chain elements.
"ORNL's advanced manufacturing and computing capabilities are uniquely positioned to help accelerate the transition of laboratory-proven technologies into production-scale defense manufacturing," said Moe Khaleel, ORNL associate laboratory director for National Security Sciences. "Partnering with ARC ensures we are transitioning our research into real production outcomes."
The initial implementation will focus on high-temperature nickel superalloy turbine components for autonomous air vehicle engines using metal binder jetting technology, directly addressing demonstrated production bottlenecks in the U.S. defense supply chain.
ORNL Chief Manufacturing Officer Craig Blue added, "This partnership exemplifies the type of relationship necessary to build and grow domestic supply chains for our national security."
About Autonomous Resource Corporation
ARC is a New York–headquartered corporation building and operating an AI-enabled, autonomous manufacturing platform for national security and critical infrastructure applications. ARC's Autonomous Resource Controller Network (ARCNet) connects distributed production cells into a secure, federated manufacturing grid capable of producing qualified components at scale. ARC's leadership team brings deep experience across defense technology, capital markets, materials science, and additive manufacturing at production scale.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest U.S. Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security. DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL partners with more than 300 companies, spurring over $5.5 billion in economic growth. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
Share this article