On 21 May 2026, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted a license application of Orano Enrichment USA, a subsidiary of the French company Orano, for a new enrichment facility, named Project Ike, in Oak Ridge, TN.

The NRC committed to consider the application on an accelerated schedule, with the goal of completing the process in April 2027. According to the NRC, this is possible in part because of similarities with "the previously approved Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF)." Orano's predecessor, Areva, announced a plan to build the EREF facility in Bonneville County, ID, in 2008. However, Areva suspended the project in 2011, and in 2018 Orano asked NRC to terminate the license.

According to an industry report, the license states that the Project Ike plant will have a capacity of 7,400 tSWU/y and will be capable of enriching uranium to 10% U-235. The plant will use ETC centrifuges, which the company uses at its facilities in France.

Orano announced its intent to build a new enrichment plant in the US in September 2024.