Centrus awarded Korean contract for enriched uranium

Wednesday, 5 February 2025

The contract - the value of which has not been disclosed - was signed in Washington, DC on 4 February by Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) President and CEO Joo-ho Whang.

Centrus and KHNP announced the conditional commitment in September. The signing formalises that commitment into a signed contract. Centrus noted that the contract is contingent upon Centrus securing sufficient public and private financing to build low-enriched uranium (LEU) production capacity in Piketon, Ohio, and covers a decade of deliveries once the new capacity comes online.

"This is the first contract for Korea to purchase enriched uranium produced by an American company in more than 10 years," Centrus said. "This agreement demonstrates that there is strong commercial demand for new, American-owned enrichment capacity to enhance competition in the marketplace. Currently, 100% of the world's commercial LEU enrichment capacity belongs to Russian, Chinese, and European state-owned corporations." 

KHNP said the contract enables it to diversify its sources of enriched uranium for nuclear power generation, enhancing the stability of its fuel supply. "Notably, this contract represents the first tangible achievement of nuclear cooperation between the United States and Korea since the start of the Trump administration's second term," KHNP said. "As resource security becomes an increasingly critical issue in the global nuclear energy market, this contract is expected to foster deeper collaboration between the two nations – not only in securing energy resources but also in strengthening the nuclear fuel supply chain."

In February 2024, KHNP signed a Letter of Intent with Centrus outlining substantive business objectives to enhance uranium resource security and nuclear cooperation between the companies.

It followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the partners in April 2023, through which the two companies planned to enhance mutual cooperation for a stable fuel supply while exploring opportunities for expanding their businesses.

KHNP operates South Korea's 26 power reactors, which with a combined capacity of some 26 GWe generate about one-third of the country's electricity. 

"This agreement plays a critical role in strengthening Korea's energy security and ensuring a stable enriched uranium supply chain," said Whang. "It also supports the sustainability of nuclear power generation and strengthens Korea's position in the global nuclear energy market."

Centrus said it "looks forward to the opportunity to support KHNP's long-term fuel requirements and is grateful for their continued partnership as we work to restore a large-scale US-owned enrichment capacity".