US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded a contract, currently valued at $1.5 billion, to BWXT Enrichment Operations, LLC "for the licensing, manufacturing development, facility construction, and operations of a Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) pilot plant."

The plant is part of the effort to establish the supply of unobligated enriched uranium that can be used for defense purposes: LEU for tritium production and HEU for naval nuclear propulsion.

In 2024, NNSA asked Nuclear Fuel Services, a subsidiary of BWXT, to conduct a study of domestic enrichment options.