Three of six companies selected for procurement of low-enriched uranium have existing or planned Oak Ridge operations
One is a longtime player, the second is moving to the city, and the third just announced plans to make the largest economic investment in the state's history. existin
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected six companies from which it can sign contracts to procure low-enriched uranium (LEU) in order to incentivize the build-out of new uranium production capacity in the United States, and it is not surprising that three of the six either have operations in Oak Ridge or have announced plans to do so.
They include:
- American Centrifuge Operating LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Centrus Energy Corporation that has a facility in the former Boeing plant at 400 Centrifuge Way.
- Laser Isotope Separation (LIS) Technologies Inc., a privately-held, U.S.-based, proprietary developer of a patented advanced laser technology, making use of infrared lasers to selectively excite the molecules of desired isotopes to separate them from other isotopes. The company, which has been based in San Diego, will relocate to the K-25 site at Oak Ridge that is now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park.
- Orano Federal Services LLC, a division of Orano USA LLC that announced in early September that Oak Ridge was the preferred site to construct a new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility. Once funding is secured, it will be the single largest investment in Tennessee’s history, outstripping Ford’s BlueOval City.
According to a news release from LIS Technologies, the total overall amount appropriated under the LEU Acquisition Program is anticipated to be $3.4 billion, reflecting the DOE’s commitment to bolstering domestic fuel supply chains and advancing nuclear technology. This landmark initiative is part of the DOE’s strategy to ensure the continued availability of LEU essential for the current and future needs of the United States’ nuclear energy infrastructure and is an essential component of the DOE’s efforts to maintain U.S. energy independence by reducing reliance on foreign uranium supplies and developing an adequate fuel supply from trusted sources to maintain the current fleet of U.S. reactors and builds a strong base to supply future deployments of advanced nuclear reactors both at home and abroad.
DOE’s news release was much briefer, noting that “through these contracts, DOE will acquire LEU generated by new domestic sources—either at entirely new facilities or from projects that expand existing capacity. All contracts will last for up to 10 years and each awardee receives a minimum contract of $2 million.
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