Centrus Energy and Oklo have finalized definitive purchase agreements for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) that will fuel up to five Aurora powerhouses for multiple years at a planned 1.2 GW energy campus in Ohio built to serve Meta data centers. The contracts firm up a letter of intent the two companies signed in June 2026 and mark one of the largest commercial HALEU offtake commitments announced to date.

Deliveries from Piketon begin in 2029

Under the agreements, Centrus will produce the HALEU at its American Centrifuge Plant in Pike County, Ohio, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2029. The fuel will cover the first phase of the Ohio campus, future Aurora deployments, and later refueling of the Aurora-INL reactor in Idaho. The deal builds on a U.S. Department of Energy allocation of HALEU recovered from EBR-II fuel, which Oklo will use to start up its first Aurora unit at Idaho National Laboratory.

The contracts also include a financial mechanism tied to Meta's earlier agreement to reserve nuclear generation. Meta pays Oklo in advance for future electricity, and Oklo passes an advance to Centrus for future HALEU deliveries. Centrus said the prepayments will help fund construction of new U.S. enrichment capacity and accelerate centrifuge manufacturing.

Oklo CEO and co-founder Jacob DeWitte said reliable fuel access is essential to take the energy business beyond the first reactor in Idaho. He said the agreements support launching the first capacity in Ohio and fueling subsequent Aurora units, while Meta's participation helps buy fuel and deliver clean, stable power to the grid.

Centrus order book reaches $5.4 billion

Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler said the firm contracts demonstrate that the company can meet the large-scale commercial HALEU demand expected to emerge soon. Including the Oklo agreements, Centrus has accumulated orders and commitments worth $5.4 billion for low-enriched uranium and HALEU from new capacity. The company is expanding its Piketon plant and installing additional centrifuge cascades to increase HALEU output.

The Oklo deal gives the Aurora program a domestic, U.S.-origin fuel source beyond the initial DOE-supplied material. For the broader HALEU market, it also signals that data-center-driven power demand is translating into firm fuel contracts rather than preliminary expressions of interest.

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