US enrichment plant begins accelerated review

Orano submitted the technical licensing documentation and Environmental Report for the gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility planned for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) earlier this year. The regulator's formal acceptance means that the application moves into full technical review for granting a licence to begin construction and then to operate the facility.

The NRC has set an expedited review schedule for the project, with an estimated completion date of 30 April 2027. This, the NRC says, reflects its broader push to modernise its licensing processes under Executive Order 14300, Ordering Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, signed last year by President Donald Trump. 

Orano's licence application incorporates experience from years of successful commercial operations with uranium enrichment centrifuges at the company's Georges Besse 2 facility in France: the company said it is also leveraging its construction experience with the ongoing 30% expansion in capacity underway at Georges Besse 2. 

The licensing effort will also leverage the licensing application from the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, a centrifuge plant Orano's forerunner company Areva had previously planned to build at Idaho Falls. The NRC issued a licence in 2011 for Eagle Rock, but the licence was terminated - at the request of the company - in 2018. Orano has committed to provide the NRC with a detailed "crosswalk" comparing the Project IKE application to Eagle Rock, which the NRC says is to "leverage the precedent" from the earlier safety evaluation. "While the staff will rely on the similarities between the two facilities to support scheduled efficiencies, the staff will perform a complete regulatory review of the Project Ike application, and the accelerated schedule assumes those similarities can be effectively leveraged," the NRC said in its acceptance of Orano's application.

"NRC is safely enabling America's efforts to reduce US dependency on foreign enrichment," the regulator's Chairman Ho Nieh said. "Credible, predictable and timely safety reviews - this is how NRC supports American leadership in nuclear energy."

Project IKE - which will be located on unused former Manhattan Project land - represents one of the largest capital developments in Tennessee's history. It is expected to create more than 1,000 construction jobs and 300 long-term career positions, plus an extensive supply chain based in the East Tennessee region, as well as playing a key role in strengthening US energy security: according to Orano, the output from the Project IKE facility alone would be able to replace the enriched uranium America is currently importing from Russia.

"For 15 years Orano has used ETC centrifuges in France to reliably enrich and supply uranium for powering American reactors. Now, we are planning to generate that same secure nuclear fuel supply using the same proven technology and processes at our Project IKE facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee," Jean-Luc Palayer, CEO of Orano USA, said. (ETC - Enrichment Technology Company - is a joint venture of Orano and Urenco which develops, manufactures and installs gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment.)

"With the NRC's 12-month timeline and Orano's expertise, we are on a good path to begin enriching a significant amount of uranium at Project IKE in time to supply America's quickly increasing nuclear energy needs," he added.