United States seeks to boost domestic enrichment capacity

The Department of Energy announced that it is unlocking $2.7 billion to boost domestic enrichment capacity. The DoE issued a request for proposals "to purchase low-enriched uranium (LEU) from domestic sources." The funds will be available to "new enrichment facilities or projects that expand the capacity of existing enrichment facilities."

One project that should be able to use these funds is the expansion of the capacity of the Urenco USA plan in Eunice, New Mexico. Centrus, which uses US centrifuge technology, has been focusing on HALEU production, but would be eligible for these funds as well. Yet another potential beneficiary of this program is Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), which welcomed the news.

UPDATE: France's Orano announced a plan to build an enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.