Company says Piketon facility expansion critical for US reactors and energy security.
US enrichment company Centrus Energy has announced plans for a major expansion of its uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, southern Ohio, expected to increase production capacity for low-enriched uranium (Leu) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (Haleu).
Centrus said in a statement that the project is to create around 1,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent operations jobs while retaining 127 existing positions.
The statement said the expansion could represent a multi-billion-dollar public and private investment, depending on funding decisions by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The company said it had raised over $1.2bn (€1bn) in convertible note transactions, a type of financing that can later be converted into equity, in the past year and secured more than $2bn in potential purchase commitments from utilities in the US and abroad.
Centrus has also signed a collaboration agreement with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and South Korean multinational steel-maker POSCO International to potentially invest in the project.
“This is a historic investment to restore America’s ability to enrich uranium at scale,” Centrus chief executive Amir Vexler said. “It’s time to stop relying on foreign, state-owned corporations and invest in American technology built by American workers.”
The expansion will also support jobs at Centrus’ centrifuge manufacturing plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and across a domestic supply chain involving 14 major suppliers in 13 states.
Centrus said it is the only active enricher using US technology and producing centrifuges exclusively in the US.
It has submitted proposals to the DOE for contracts to expand domestic Leu and Haleu production, both needed to fuel the current nuclear fleet and future advanced reactors.
The company has already started hiring and is partnering with JobsOhio and Ohio Southeast Economic Development to recruit workers.
If federal support is confirmed, Centrus said thousands of additional centrifuges could be installed at the Piketon plant, allowing industrial-scale production of enrichment services critical for US energy security and advanced nuclear deployment.
In June 2025, Centrus subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating produced and delivered 900 kg of Haleu to the DOE, reaching a milestone for domestic production of enriched material that will be needed to fuel many next-generation nuclear power plants.
Centrus has been working with the DOE since 2019, when it was contracted to build and demonstrate a cascade of advanced centrifuges for Haleu production at Piketon. A follow-on contract awarded in 2022 set out three phases: the first was completed in 2023 with the start of enrichment operations and delivery of 20 kg of HALEU. The second phase requires 900 kg by mid-2026, while a third phase could extend production for up to eight years.
The US government has long worried about Russia’s dominance in Haleu supply and is pushing for domestic production.
In 2024, contracts were awarded to Centrus Energy, Urenco USA, Orano USA and General Matter to produce Haleu in the US, with Russian deliveries due to end in 2028 under a federal ban.
Haleu is uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% U-235, compared to the 3-5% enrichment level of conventional low-enriched uranium used in today’s reactors. This higher enrichment allows for smaller, more efficient reactor cores and is considered essential for many advanced reactor designs.
