The US Department of Energy selected Orano Federal Services for a $900 million award to produce low-enriched uranium at a new facility in the United States, part of a broader federal effort to rebuild the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain. The award accelerates development of a $5 billion facility planned for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a project the company calls Project IKE, which is on track for a license submission to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in early 2026.
The Orano award is one piece of a $2.7 billion DOE program to strengthen domestic enrichment services over the next decade. In January 2026, the department selected four primary contractors through indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity agreements. American Centrifuge Operating, General Matter, and Orano Federal Services each received $900 million awards. American Centrifuge Operating and General Matter are tasked with creating domestic high-assay low-enriched uranium capacity, while Orano Federal Services will expand conventional low-enriched uranium enrichment.
The investment addresses a longstanding supply gap. The United States currently imports about two-thirds of the low-enriched uranium needed to fuel its reactor fleet, with Russia historically a major foreign source. Building domestic enrichment capacity for both low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium supports the fuel needs of the existing fleet and the next generation of advanced reactors, many of which require the higher-assay product.
The Tennessee project adds enrichment capacity in a state with deep nuclear industry roots and creates skilled jobs tied to the fuel supply chain.
Source: Orano - https://www.orano.group/usa/en/our-news/news-releases/2026/orano-selected-for-DOE-900m-funding-LEU-new-american-uranium-enrichment-facility