Centrus Energy begins uranium enrichment operations in Ohio

Centrus Energy has begun enrichment operations at its High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium – HALEU – facility in Piketon, Ohio, and expects to begin withdrawing HALEU product later this month. It is the only NRC-licensed HALEU facility in the U.S. and the first new U.S.-owned, U.S.-technology uranium enrichment plant to begin production since 1954. 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 about 900 kilograms of HALEU per year, but with sufficient funding and offtake commitments, Centrus could expand production.