The Department of Energy in the United States has awarded a $900 million task order to a Maryland-based company to expand its uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio.

Centrus Energy’s facility will now make commercial-scale production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU). 

The company intends to leverage the competitively-awarded federal funding to support its previously announced multi-billion dollar expansion in Piketon, which will also include additional Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) production to serve commercial utilities and the existing reactor fleet.   

Revitalizing America’s nuclear fuel supply chain

“This award represents a historic commitment to revitalizing America’s nuclear fuel supply chain and reclaiming American nuclear leadership on the global stage,” said Centrus president and CEO Amir Vexler. 

“I am grateful to the Trump Administration for making this commitment and to Republicans and Democrats in Congress who came together to provide this urgently needed funding.  This award will catalyze additional private investment and supports the prospect of further expansion as the market continues to grow.  Uranium enrichment in Ohio has a big future, and this is just the beginning.”

The award from the Department was made possible by a bipartisan funding package championed in 2024 by House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleishmann, who represents Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

Centrus’ work to restore America’s domestic uranium enrichment capabilities

Vexler expressed special thanks to Ohio and Tennessee Congressional leaders who have been strong supporters of Centrus’ work to restore America’s domestic uranium enrichment capabilities, according to a press release.

The company also revealed that under a contract with the Department of Energy initiated in 2019, Centrus constructed a cascade of its AC-100M advanced centrifuges to demonstrate production of 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 Department of Energy. 

The new project is expected to support thousands of American jobs, including 1,000 construction jobs and 300 new operating jobs in Ohio, while retaining 150 existing jobs at the Piketon plant.

The project will also provide hundreds of new direct jobs at Centrus’ centrifuge manufacturing plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and across a nationwide network of suppliers.

Additional centrifuge cascades to expand HALEU production capacity

The company also 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 company has already secured $2.3 billion in LEU purchase commitments from utilities – including both domestic customers as well as export customers – contingent upon securing the necessary financing to build the new capacity.  Centrus also raised more than $1.2 billion in private capital via convertible note transactions in November 2024 and August 2025 to support its expansion plans. 

Centrus and the Department of Energy will now finalize a contract that will govern the award.  In the interim, Centrus is continuing to gear up for the expansion by expanding its workforce and capabilities. Last month, the company announced that it had launched domestic centrifuge manufacturing at its centrifuge factory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to support its planned expansion.  The first new capacity is expected to come online in 2029, as per the release.

The company also revealed that the fixed-price base task order amount for the award is $900 million to bring new enrichment capacity online.  The award also includes options, at the Department’s discretion, for up to $170 million to produce and deliver HALEU to the Department, so that the total task order contract value with all options included is $1.07 billion.