Funding for Centrus Energy's Ohio enrichment expansion comes in part from a Department of Energy award for HALEU production at the American Centrifuge Plant valued at $900 million. World Nuclear News reports the task order carries options of up to $170 million more, for a possible $1.07 billion total.

State Money Alongside Federal Support

Centrus also drew $70 million from Tennessee's Nuclear Energy Fund, reflecting the two-state footprint of the program: centrifuge manufacturing in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and enrichment cascades in Piketon, Ohio. The Ohio expansion is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and 300 operating jobs, and to retain 150 existing positions.

The article referenced a 2029 start for the expanded capacity, placing the first meaningful output from the new cascades roughly three years after the first machine shipped.

Building a U.S.-Only Supply Chain

The federal money is paired with an explicit localization strategy. Centrus completed its purchase of Westerman Holdings in October 2026, adding a maker of centrifuge casings and other large components — casings were among the hardest parts to source domestically. The new cascades are designed to use machines made only with U.S. parts.

Centrus says it has made thousands of individual components and ordered tens of thousands more from domestic manufacturers, a supplier-development effort that runs in parallel with hardware production at Oak Ridge.

The combination of a $900 million DOE task order, a $70 million state contribution, and an in-house components acquisition shows how HALEU capacity is being assembled from policy, state incentives and vertical integration at once.

Why the Structure Matters

For HALEU buyers, the DOE task order provides a demand floor that makes private capital deployment in centrifuge manufacturing viable before the full commercial order book is in place. For policymakers, the domestic-parts requirement addresses a vulnerability exposed by reliance on foreign enrichment: even a U.S.-built cascade depends on a component supply chain that had largely disappeared.

With the first certified-for-construction package complete and the first machine shipped ahead of schedule, the program has moved from award announcement to physical execution — the phase where schedule risk typically becomes visible.

This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.