BETHESDA, Md., June 15,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Centrus Energy Corp (NYSE
American: LEU) announced today that it has successfully completed
its operational readiness reviews with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) and received NRC approval to possess uranium at
the Piketon, Ohio site and
introduce uranium into the cascade of centrifuges Centrus has
constructed. This is a critical milestone in advancing toward
first-of-a-kind production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium
(HALEU) and means that Centrus remains on track to begin production
by the end of 2023.
"Centrus continues to meet every contract milestone on time and
on budget, putting us in position to pioneer U.S. HALEU production
to meet the needs of the Department and the nuclear industry," said
Daniel B. Poneman, Centrus President
and CEO. "By establishing a secure, reliable American source of
HALEU, we can help enable the commercialization of a whole new
generation of U.S.-designed advanced nuclear reactors to supply the
carbon-free energy the world needs."
"We are proud to be one step closer to starting up what will be
the first new, U.S.-owned enrichment plant to begin production in
70 years," said Centrus Senior Vice President for Field Operations
Larry Cutlip. "Our talented
workforce has executed beautifully in building the cascade,
securing a HALEU license, and putting us in position to become
the first commercial HALEU producer."
Centrus began construction of a cascade of centrifuges in 2019
under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2022, Centrus
secured a competitively-awarded follow-on contract to finish
construction, complete final regulatory steps, bring the cascade
into operation, and produce HALEU for the Department's use. The
operational readiness reviews were required under Centrus' NRC
license, which was successfully amended in 2021 to make the
Piketon site the only NRC-licensed
HALEU production facility.
Construction of the cascade and most of the support systems is
now complete, and Centrus has also finished initial testing of
these systems. The next steps are for Centrus to complete
construction of the on-site HALEU storage area and conduct final
testing activities prior to operation, with initial HALEU
production set to begin by the end of the year.
HALEU is an advanced nuclear fuel required for most of the
next-generation reactor designs currently under development. Nine
of the ten advanced reactor designs selected for funding under the
Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program,
including the two demonstration reactors, will rely on HALEU, as
will the first non-light water reactor to enter licensing review by
the NRC.
Separate from the operations contract, Centrus is investigating
the possibility to scale up the Piketon facility with additional centrifuge
cascades for expanded HALEU production – provided that sufficient
funding or offtake contracts can be secured. A full-scale HALEU
cascade, consisting of 120 individual centrifuge machines, with a
combined capacity of approximately 6,000 kilograms of HALEU per
year (6 MTU/year), could be brought online within about 42 months
of securing the funding to do so. Centrus has the capability to add
an additional cascade every six months after that. Such an
expansion would mobilize hundreds of union workers in Ohio to build and operate the plant and
support thousands of direct and indirect jobs across a 100 percent
domestic manufacturing supply chain.
About Centrus Energy
Centrus Energy is a trusted supplier of nuclear fuel and
services for the nuclear power industry. Centrus provides value to
its utility customers through the reliability and diversity of its
supply sources – helping them meet the growing need for clean,
affordable, carbon-free electricity. Since 1998, the Company has
provided its utility customers with more than 1,750 reactor years
of fuel, which is equivalent to 7 billion tons of coal. With
world-class technical and engineering capabilities, Centrus is also
advancing the next generation of centrifuge technologies so that
America can restore its domestic uranium enrichment capability in
the future. Find out more at www.centrusenergy.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements
related to future events, which may impact our expected future
business and financial performance, and often contain words such as
"expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "will",
"should", "could", "would" or "may" and other words of similar
meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information
available to us as of the date of this news release and represent
management's current views and assumptions. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or
results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors, which may be beyond our control. For Centrus
Energy Corp., particular risks and uncertainties that could cause
our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed
in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to
the following which are, and will be, exacerbated by the COVID-19
pandemic and subsequent variants, and any worsening of the global
business and economic environment as a result; risks related to
whether or when government funding or demand for high-assay
low-enriched uranium ("HALEU") for government or commercial uses
will materialize; risks related to (i) our ability to perform and
absorb costs under our agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy
("DOE") to deploy and operate a cascade of centrifuges to
demonstrate production of HALEU for advanced reactors (the "HALEU
Operations Contract"), (ii) our ability to obtain contracts and
funding to be able to continue operations and (iii) our ability to
obtain and/or perform under other agreements; risks related to
uncertainty regarding our ability to commercially deploy a
competitive enrichment technology; risks related to the fact that
we face significant competition from major producers who may be
less cost sensitive or are wholly or partially government owned;
risks related to the impact of government regulation and policies
including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
and other risks and uncertainties discussed in this and our other
filings with the SEC.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this
news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that
could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any
forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. Readers
are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures
made in this news release and in our other filings with the SEC,
including our Annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2022, and our other
filings with the SEC that attempt to advise interested parties of
the risks and factors that may affect our business. We do not
undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news
release, except as required by law.
Contact:
Lindsey Geisler (301) 564-3392 or
GeislerLR@centrusenergy.com
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SOURCE Centrus Energy Corp.