Centrus ships first centrifuge for Piketon plant expansion

"This milestone marks the next phase of the project where completed centrifuges manufactured in Tennessee will be shipped to Ohio for final assembly, with the manufacturing rate growing over time," the company said.

Under a contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) initiated in 2019, Centrus constructed a cascade of its AC-100M advanced centrifuges to demonstrate production of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) - an advanced nuclear fuel needed for the next generation of reactors. The plant became operational in 2023, and continues to produce HALEU under contract with the DOE. 

Last September, Centrus announced plans for a major expansion of its Piketon plant. As part of its expansion, the company intends to build additional centrifuge cascades to expand its HALEU production capacity, produce LEU feed material for the HALEU cascades, produce additional quantities of LEU to serve the commercial market, and service national security needs. The expansion is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and 300 new operating jobs in Ohio alone, while retaining the 150 jobs that existed at the Piketon plant when the expansion began, the company said.

In December, Centrus restarted centrifuge manufacturing activities in Oak Ridge to support the expansion of the Piketon plant. In January, the company announced a USD560 million investment to expand and modernise its Oak Ridge Technology and Manufacturing Center, transitioning it to a high-rate manufacturing plant capable of supporting production of thousands of advanced centrifuges.

Centrus announced in June this year that it had been selected by the DOE for a USD900 million task order to expand its uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, to include commercial-scale production of HALEU. The award also includes options, at the DOE's discretion, for up to USD170 million to produce and deliver HALEU to the Department, so that the total task order contract value with all options included is USD1.07 billion. The company has also utilised funding from Tennessee's USD70 million Nuclear Energy Fund, which is administered through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

The new centrifuges being produced in Tennessee will be grouped into cascades at Piketon, with the first new uranium enrichment capacity expected to come online in 2029.

"Completing the first new centrifuge for our expansion and standing up a one-of-a-kind supply chain are significant moments for our team and this country," said Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler. "Building this unique manufacturing capability at scale takes specialised expertise, time, precision and sustained commitment. These milestones demonstrate our ability to translate our investment into tangible progress and position us to re-establish this country's rightful position in the global enrichment market."

Centrus noted that its technology is fully licensed, proven and de-risked, with more than four million machine-hours of successful operation. Its existing centrifuge cascade in Ohio includes components manufactured in 2019, as well as components the company manufactured in prior years, and has been reliably producing HALEU since late 2023. Centrus' Oak Ridge facility is the only advanced centrifuge manufacturing plant in the USA.

HALEU fuel enriched to between 5% and 20% of the fissile uranium-235 isotope will be needed to fuel many of the advanced reactor designs that are under development. With no commercial source of the material in the USA, the DOE has been actively supporting the development of a domestic US supply chain.