The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $900 million in funding to Orano, marking a major milestone in America’s drive for domestic energy independence. The funding will support the development of a $5 billion uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, aimed at supplying low-enriched uranium (LEU) for American nuclear reactors. Known as Project IKE, the facility is designed to significantly reduce U.S. reliance on foreign uranium sources, especially as a full ban on Russian imports approaches in 2028.
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Project Ike and America’s Nuclear Transformation
Named in tribute to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his 1953 “Atoms for Peace” speech, Project IKE is positioned to become a cornerstone of U.S. energy infrastructure. Currently, the United States imports about two-thirds of its LEU, much of it from Russia. This dependency has raised national security concerns and intensified the urgency for local production. Orano’s new facility aims to provide a diversified and competitively priced domestic supply of enriched uranium, specifically to meet the needs of America’s expanding nuclear fleet.
The project represents a major step toward nuclear energy resilience, particularly as the U.S. looks to quadruple its nuclear capacity by 2050, a target emphasized by former President Donald Trump in 2025. Orano’s Tennessee-based plant is expected to address the rising demand for clean energy, driven in part by artificial intelligence, which consumes vast amounts of electricity. As noted by Orano, “the Project IKE facility is designed to generate a secure and significant American-based supply of enriched uranium.”
Orano Brings Proven Nuclear Tech to U.S.
According to a report published by Orano, the company has over four decades of experience supplying enriched uranium to U.S. reactors from its facilities in France. It is also the only Western company in the past 15 years to have successfully built and operated a modern commercial-scale gas centrifuge enrichment plant. The Georges Besse II facility in France, completed in 2011, currently operates at scale and is undergoing a 30% capacity expansion.
Project IKE will benefit directly from this experience. As François Lurin, Executive Vice President of Orano’s Chemistry and Enrichment business, noted, “Our objective is to apply the best practices from that construction and expansion to the benefit of the Project IKE uranium enrichment facility in Tennessee.” The U.S. facility will use proven centrifuge technology and follow an optimized, modular design that enables flexible scaling to meet future energy needs.
$5B Project Eyes 2026
The facility’s licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is scheduled to begin in early 2026. If the legal and contractual framework is finalized as expected, Orano aims to start LEU production at the Oak Ridge site by 2031. This timeline aligns with the upcoming ban on Russian imports and positions the company as a key supplier for decades to come.
Economically, Project IKE is expected to have a significant local impact. Orano anticipates creating more than 1,000 jobs during construction and another 300 long-term positions once operations begin. These will be highly skilled, well-compensated roles in enrichment technology, engineering, and systems operations. The facility will also rely on an extensive U.S.-based supply chain for its construction and long-term operations, further boosting local and national economic benefits.
Securing America’s Nuclear Future
Orano’s selection by the DOE reflects the government’s strategic priority to strengthen U.S. energy security through domestic uranium enrichment. With the coming end of Russian imports and the surge in energy demand from sectors like AI, having a stable and domestic supply of LEU is critical.
Jean-Luc Palayer, CEO of Orano USA, emphasized that “there is no mystery to making enriched uranium—and a lot of it—when you have reliable centrifuges, existing transport containers, and enrichment processes refined over decades of successful commercial operations.”
