BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 7, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Centrus Energy Corp. announced that it has
made its first delivery of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)
to the U.S. Department of Energy, completing Phase One of its
contract with the Department by successfully demonstrating its
HALEU production process. Centrus will now move on to Phase Two of
the contract – requiring a full year of HALEU production at the
rate of 900 kilograms per year at its American Centrifuge Plant in
Piketon, Ohio.
"Centrus is proud to be pioneering American HALEU production,
with our first delivery of the fuel that is urgently needed to
support the demonstration and commercialization of advanced
reactors," said Centrus President and CEO Daniel B. Poneman. "This critical milestone is
essential to meeting the Department's near-term HALEU needs, while
laying the groundwork for the full restoration of America's lost
domestic uranium enrichment capacity. We are committed to working
with the Department and industry to build a public-private
partnership so that we can scale up production in the coming years
to meet the full range of commercial and national security
requirements for enriched uranium."
"Our HALEU team has worked exceptionally hard to complete this
project ahead of schedule and under budget – showing we can execute
on big, complicated projects and deliver value to our customers,"
said Centrus Senior Vice President of Operations Larry Cutlip. "We are grateful to have had the
opportunity to demonstrate and expand our capabilities and
expertise over the course of this work and look forward to
embarking on the next phase of this important effort."
Under a competitively awarded, cost-share contract signed with
the U.S. Department of Energy in 2022, Centrus was required to
begin production of HALEU by the end of this year. Centrus began
enrichment operations in October – two months ahead of schedule. By
completing delivery of more than 20 kilograms of HALEU to the
Department, Centrus has finished Phase One of the contract. The
Department takes delivery of the HALEU on site in Piketon and
is obligated to provide the HALEU storage cylinders to collect the
HALEU from the cascade; Centrus has constructed a storage facility
where the HALEU will be kept until it is needed.
Phase One included a 50 percent cost share requirement for
Centrus, with the company and the Department each contributing
about $30 million of the $60 million overall cost. In Phase Two of the
contract, the Department will pay Centrus on a cost-plus
incentive fee basis for the HALEU the company produces.
HALEU is an advanced nuclear fuel required for most of the
next-generation reactor designs currently under development. The
capacity of the 16-centrifuge cascade is modest – about 900
kilograms of HALEU per year – but with sufficient funding and
offtake commitments, Centrus could significantly expand production.
A full-scale HALEU cascade, consisting of 120 centrifuge
machines, with a combined capacity to produce approximately 6,000
kilograms of HALEU per year (6 MTU/year), could be producing HALEU
within 42 months after securing the necessary funding. With
appropriate support, Centrus could add a second HALEU cascade six
months later and subsequent cascades every two months after that.
That would mobilize hundreds of union workers in Ohio to build and operate the plant, while
supporting thousands of direct and indirect jobs across a
nationwide manufacturing supply chain. The Piketon facility has ample space for the
thousands of machines that will be needed to meet the growing
demand for enriched uranium in the decades to come.
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 may be, exacerbated
by any worsening of the global business and economic environment as
a result; risks related to component failure which prevent plant
operations or HALEU production; risks related to the government's
inability to satisfy its obligations under the HALEU Operation
Contract including supplying government furnished equipment under
the HALEU Operation Contract and processing security clearances due
to a government shutdown or other reasons; 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 that (i) we may
not obtain the full benefit of the HALEU Operation Contract and may
not be able or allowed to operate the HALEU enrichment facility to
produce HALEU after the completion of the HALEU Operation Contract
or (ii) the HALEU enrichment facility may not be available to us as
a future source of supply; risks related to actions, including
reviews, that may be taken by the U.S. government, the Russian
government, or other governments that could affect our ability to
perform under our contractual obligations or the ability of our
sources of supply to perform under their contractual obligations to
us; 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.
Contacts:
Investors: Dan
Leistikow at LeistikowD@centrusenergy.com
Media: Lindsey Geisler at
GeislerLR@centrusenergy.com
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SOURCE Centrus Energy Corp.