BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Centrus Energy (NYSE American:
LEU) announced today that its subsidiary, American Centrifuge
Operating, LLC ("ACO"), has won an award from the U.S. Department
of Energy aimed at expanding domestic commercial production of
High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), which is needed to fuel
many next-generation nuclear reactor designs currently under
development.
"This award could facilitate the potential expansion of Centrus'
first-of-a-kind HALEU production capacity to help meet the needs of
the advanced nuclear industry and the nation," said Centrus
President and CEO Amir Vexler.
"It represents a critical piece of the public-private partnership
we are working to build so that we can restore a robust,
American-owned uranium enrichment capability to power the future of
nuclear energy."
ACO is one of four awardees being announced today for HALEU
production, with a minimum contract value of $2 million and a maximum value for all awardees
of $2.7 billion over a ten-year
period. The ultimate dollar amount associated with this award
– and the potential scale of the expansion supported -- will depend
upon task orders subsequently issued by the U.S. Department of
Energy to Centrus.
ACO will manufacture the centrifuges and supporting equipment
exclusively in the United States,
relying upon domestic engineering and a domestic supply chain that
currently spans 14 major, American-owned suppliers in 13 states and
is expected to grow.
Separate from this award, ACO was also one of the awardees
selected by the Department on October
8th to deconvert HALEU from uranium hexafluoride
(UF6) to uranium oxide and/or uranium metal forms, a key step in
the nuclear fuel production process which is separate from, and
subsequent to, production of HALEU via uranium
enrichment.
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 with respect to future
events and operational, economic and financial performance.
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
(hereinafter "risks") that could cause our actual future results to
differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking
statements and which are, and may be, exacerbated by any worsening
of the global business and economic environment include but are not
limited to the following: risks related to the U.S. Department of
Energy ("DOE") not issuing any task orders to any awardee under
this award or any task orders to the Company under this award;
risks related to the Company not winning a task order under this
award to expand its HALEU plant; risks related to DOE not providing
adequate share of the appropriated funding under this award; risks
related to our ability to secure financing to expand our plant;
risks related to our ability to increase capacity in a timely
manner to meet market demand or our contractual obligations; risks
related to DOE not awarding any contracts to the Company in
response to the Company's remaining proposals; risks related to
whether or when government funding or demand for high-assay
low-enriched uranium ("HALEU") for government or commercial uses
will materialize and at what level; risks related to (i) our
ability to perform under our agreement with the DOE to deploy and
operate a cascade of centrifuges to demonstrate production of HALEU
for advanced reactors (the "HALEU Operation Contract"), (ii) our
ability to obtain new 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 output from
the HALEU enrichment facility may not be available to us as a
future source of supply; risks related to the fact that we
face significant competition from major enrichers who may be less
cost sensitive or are wholly or partially government owned; risks
related to the potential for demobilization or termination of the
HALEU Operation Contract; risks related to DOE delaying, modifying
or terminating any contracts under this award; risks related to
laws that ban (i) imports of Russian LEU into the United States, including the "Prohibiting
Russian Uranium Imports Act" ("Import Ban Act") or (ii)
transactions with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation
("Rosatom") or its subsidiaries, which includes TENEX; risks
related to our potential inability to secure additional waivers or
other exceptions from the Import Ban Act or sanctions in a timely
manner or at all in order to allow us to continue importing Russian
LEU under the TENEX Supply Contract or otherwise doing business
with TENEX or implementing the TENEX Supply Contract; risks related
to TENEX's refusal or inability to deliver LEU to us for any reason
including because (i) U.S. or foreign government sanctions or bans
are imposed on LEU from Russia or
on TENEX, (ii) TENEX is unable or unwilling to deliver LEU, receive
payments, receive the return of natural uranium hexafluoride, or
conduct other activities related to the TENEX Supply Contract, or
(iii) TENEX elects, or is directed (including by its owner or the
Russian government ), to limit or stop transactions with us or with
the United States or other
countries; risks related to the increasing quantities of LEU being
imported into the U.S. from China
and the impact on our ability to make future LEU or SWU sales or
ability to finance any buildout of our enrichment capacities; risks
related to reliance on the only firm that has the necessary permits
and capability to transport LEU from Russia to the United
States and that firm's ability to maintain those permits and
capabilities or secure additional permits.
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 filings with the SEC,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2023, under Part II, Item 1A - "Risk Factors" in
our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
June 30, 2024, and in our 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.
