Investment lays groundwork for potential
large-scale uranium enrichment expansion
BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE
American: LEU) today announced that it is resuming centrifuge
manufacturing activities and expanding its manufacturing capacity
at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company will
invest an additional approximately $60
million for this effort over the next 18 months to lay the
groundwork to support a potential large-scale expansion of uranium
enrichment at the Centrus' American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon,
Ohio. Such a large-scale expansion would require a
multi-billion dollar public and private investment.
This announcement follows Centrus' recent success in securing
over $2 billion in contingent
purchase commitments from customers to support future production of
Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU), as well as two awards from the U.S.
Department of Energy aimed at enrichment and deconversion of
High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU).
Centrus President and CEO Amir
Vexler said: "Today's investment will jump-start what we
hope will be a multi-billion dollar public and private commitment
to reestablishing America's uranium enrichment capacity at scale
while reducing our dependence on foreign nations -- deploying
American technology, built by American workers, supported by an
American supply chain. The all-American solution we are
offering represents the best path forward to ensure a reliable fuel
supply for today's reactors, support the deployment of next
generation reactors, and meet America's enduring national security
needs for enriched uranium. Most importantly, it puts us in
position to execute an expansion quickly."
Continued Vexler: "We have always said that restoring U.S.
enrichment capacity at scale requires a public-private partnership,
including a robust federal investment alongside customer offtake
commitments and private capital. This additional investment
by Centrus reflects our continued willingness to step up to the
plate in such a partnership."
Centrus' American Centrifuge technology is exclusively
manufactured at its 440,000 square foot Technology and
Manufacturing Center in Oak Ridge and is supported by a nationwide
supply chain of 14 major suppliers – all of them American companies
– with operations in at least 13 states plus dozens of other
smaller suppliers. The only other Western centrifuge
technology in commercial operation today is the European centrifuge
design, which is exclusively manufactured in the
Netherlands.
Federal Investments in Domestic Uranium Enrichment
Centrus is competing for more than $3.4
billion that Congress appropriated to the Department of
Energy to jumpstart domestic nuclear fuel production. As part
of that effort, Centrus, via its American Centrifuge Operating
(ACO) subsidiary, was selected by the Department as one of four
awardees under a competitive solicitation aimed at expanding
domestic commercial production of HALEU. The contract has a
minimum value of $2 million and
contract ceiling of $2.7 billion for
all awardees. The Department also selected ACO and several
other companies under a separate solicitation aimed at HALEU
deconversion, a subsequent step in the HALEU production
process. A third solicitation, aimed at U.S. production of
LEU for existing reactors, has not yet been awarded. The
ultimate dollar amount associated with these contracts -- and the
potential scale of the expansion supported -- will depend upon
task orders subsequently issued by the Department to ACO under
these contracts.
About Centrus Energy
Centrus Energy is a trusted American supplier of nuclear fuel
and services for the nuclear power industry, helping meet the
growing need for clean, affordable, carbon-free energy. Since
1998, the Company has provided its utility customers with more than
1,850 reactor years of fuel, which is equivalent to more than 7
billion tons of coal.
With world-class technical and engineering capabilities, Centrus
is pioneering production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium and is
leading the effort to restore America's uranium enrichment
capabilities at scale so that we can meet our clean energy, energy
security, and national security needs. 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 awarding any contracts to the Company in
response to any of the Company's proposals; risks related to DOE
not issuing any task orders to any awardee under any of the HALEU
or Deconversion contracts or any task orders to the Company under
either of those contracts; risks related to the Company not winning
a task order under the HALEU contract to expand its HALEU plant;
risks related to DOE not providing adequate share of the
appropriated funding; 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 laws that ban or restrict
(i) imports of Russian LEU into the
United States or export of Russian LEU out of Russia, including but not limited to the
"Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act" ("Import Ban Act") or
Russian Federation Decree No. 1544 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 or export 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 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 and absorb costs 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 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; 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 LEU producers
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.
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 September 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: Neal Nagarajan at
NagarajanNK@centrusenergy.com
Media: Lindsey Geisler at
GeislerLR@centrusenergy.com
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SOURCE Centrus Energy Corp.