PIKETON, Ohio — Centrus Energy announced it has been awarded $900 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to expand uranium enrichment operations at its Piketon facility, a project the company says will support commercial-scale production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium, or HALEU.
The funding supports what Centrus describes as a previously announced multi-billion-dollar expansion and includes plans to increase both HALEU and conventional low-enriched uranium production. The company projects the expansion will involve thousands of jobs nationally, including construction and permanent positions in Ohio and Tennessee.
Centrus continues to promote its growth and expansion, but its latest announcement made no reference to recent federal oversight findings or regulatory records tied to its enrichment operations.
Federal Audit Found Prior Contract Limited Competition
In July 2025, the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General released an audit examining DOE’s 2019 award of a sole-source contract to American Centrifuge Operating, LLC, a Centrus subsidiary, for a HALEU demonstration project.
The audit found that DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy restricted competition during the pre-award and award phases, citing the use of highly specific technical requirements that only Centrus could meet. Auditors concluded that those actions may not have been in the government’s best interest and could have prevented DOE from receiving the best value for taxpayer funds.
The Inspector General also found the contract was awarded despite Centrus carrying significant financial risk, including negative equity and limited liquidity at the time. DOE reduced Centrus’ required cost-share from 50 percent to 20 percent, acknowledging the company could not meet standard financial thresholds.
Because more than six years had passed since the procurement decision, the Inspector General issued no formal recommendations, but encouraged DOE to apply the findings to future procurements, particularly sole-source awards.
Security Incidents Confirmed, Details Withheld
Also absent from Centrus’ announcement were security incident records filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Monthly security incident logs obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request confirm that Centrus reported multiple security-related events in 2025 at facilities, including:
- The Piketon HALEU enrichment site
- a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- Centrus’ corporate headquarters in Maryland
All incident details were redacted by the NRC under federal exemptions related to national security, the Atomic Energy Act, law enforcement sensitivity, commercial confidentiality, and personal privacy. The records do not disclose the nature, cause, or resolution of the incidents.
Facility Handles High-Assay Nuclear Material
HALEU is enriched to 19.75 percent uranium-235, placing it below the threshold for weapons-grade material but above the enrichment level used by most commercial reactors. The fuel is intended for use in advanced reactor designs currently under development.
The Piketon enrichment facility is located on the site of the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which remains under long-term federal environmental cleanup for contamination from decades of uranium enrichment operations.
Federal regulatory filings show Centrus operates independently of the cleanup mission, though both activities occur on the same site.
Expansion Proceeds
Centrus said the $900 million task order will be finalized through a contract with DOE and includes options that could raise the total value above $1 billion. The company said the first new enrichment capacity is expected to come online in 2029.
The company credited bipartisan support from members of Congress and state officials for backing the expansion.
The Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have not publicly addressed how the oversight findings or redacted security incident reports relate to the newly announced expansion.