US Awards Uranium-Enrichment Contracts to Centrus, Orano

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration has awarded Centrus Energy Corp. and Orano SA, among others, with contracts to develop highly enriched uranium that will be needed for a new breed of advanced nuclear reactors. 

The dollar amount of the contracts, which tap into a pool of as much as $2.7 billion in government funding, will depend on future orders to be issued by the Department of Energy. General Matter Inc. and Louisiana Energy Services, which operates Urenco Ltd.’s New Mexico enrichment plant, were the other two recipients.

The nuclear fuel, known as high-assay, low-enriched uranium or Haleu, will be needed to power small modular reactors, which unlike traditional reactors, can be built at factories, delivered by truck or train, and assembled on site. Currently, the only supply of Haleu, which is enriched between 5% and 20%, is manufactured in Russia. 

The funding is part of a multibillion-dollar plan by the Biden administration to wean the US off of cheap enriched Russian uranium and help restart a long-dormant domestic industry for enrichment and other specialized services needed to manufacture nuclear fuel. A ban imports of Russian reactor fuel went into effect earlier this year, though the legislation allows the Energy Department to issue limited waivers until 2028. 

The administration earlier this month awarded similar contracts for nuclear deconversion services, which occurs after enrichment to turn gaseous uranium hexaflouride into oxide that can be fabricated into fuel.

“Today’s announcement — funded by the Inflation Reduction Act — is another critical step by President Biden and Vice President Harris to bolster America’s energy and national security, achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, and build a strong, reliable domestic nuclear fuel supply chain free of influence from adversarial foreign nations,” the Energy Department said in a statement.

(Updates with Energy Department statement in last paragraph.)

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