BELLEVUE, Wash., and
BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TerraPower
announced today its plans to team with Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE
American: LEU) to establish commercial-scale, domestic production
capabilities for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which
will be needed to fuel many next-generation reactor designs
including the recently announced Natrium™ Power Storage System
designed by TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. The proposed
investment is part of the TerraPower-led proposal for the U.S.
Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program
(ARDP), which is intended to support the deployment of two
first-of-a-kind advanced reactor designs in the next five to seven
years.
The ARDP requires applicants to "establish a plan by which they
would obtain the fuel/special nuclear material needed for their
projects." The TerraPower application proposes that, if selected
for ARDP, the company would work with Centrus to build
commercial-scale capacity to produce HALEU and fabricate it into
metal fuel assemblies. HALEU, which is not commercially available
today, offers improved reactor economics, greater fuel efficiency,
enhanced safety and proliferation resistance, lower volumes of
waste and other advantages.
The first year of scope initiates the facility's design and
licensing and involves detailed planning and cost estimating for
implementation of the new infrastructure and production. The
Natrium reactor technology employs a metal fuel form that is not
currently available from any U.S. commercial nuclear fuel supplier.
This contract will close the gap in metal-specific fabrication
infrastructure and meet growing HALEU needs.
"We are investing in American capability because it offers
advantages related to assured domestic supply for the Natrium
technology's long-term commercialization prospects," said
Chris Levesque, TerraPower President
and CEO. "We are pleased that this effort supports broader
Department of Energy goals with regard to HALEU production and
market deployment of domestic advanced reactor technology."
"By catalyzing commercial-scale HALEU production, the proposed
investment would put America in the leadership position when it
comes to fueling the advanced reactors of tomorrow," said
Daniel B. Poneman, Centrus President
and CEO. "This partnership with TerraPower would enable us to
expand beyond demonstration scale and we have more than enough room
at the Ohio plant to continue
expanding uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication capability as
demand grows and the market matures."
Centrus Energy is currently working under a three-year,
$115 million cost-shared contract
with the Department of Energy to deploy 16 of its AC-100M
centrifuges at its Piketon, Ohio,
facility to demonstrate HALEU production. Once the demonstration is
complete in mid-2022, TerraPower would work with Centrus to expand
the plant to meet the fuel requirements of the Natrium
demonstration reactor.
In a survey of America's advanced reactor developers conducted
by the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, the availability of HALEU was
cited as the number one issue that "keeps you up at night." The
Department of Energy's U.S. Nuclear Fuel Working Group report also
identified HALEU production capability as a key priority in
restoring U.S. leadership in nuclear technologies, and bills
supporting HALEU have passed the House of Representatives and
received bipartisan support in the Senate.
To ensure that both the reactor can be commercialized within
five to seven years and that new HALEU production capacity can be
built, the Natrium proposal includes additional private investment
levels, beyond the 50% cost share minimum required by the
Department of Energy for ARDP demonstration reactors. This
additional investment will be used to build HALEU infrastructure
that can benefit the large number of advanced reactor developers
planning on using HALEU.
In addition to creating HALEU production capacity, TerraPower
and its partners plan to establish a new Category II metal fuel
fabrication facility that is scaled to meet the needs of the
Natrium demonstration program. The facility will include the
capability to manufacture the Natrium technology's advanced metal
fuel forms that will be included as lead test assemblies in the
demonstration plant. Specific terms of the agreement have not been
disclosed.
About TerraPower
TerraPower is a leading nuclear
innovation company that strives to improve the world through
nuclear energy and science. Since it was founded by
Bill Gates and a group of
like-minded visionaries, TerraPower has emerged as an incubator and
developer of ideas and technologies that offer energy independence,
environmental sustainability, medical advancement and other
cutting-edge opportunities. It accepts and tackles some of the
world's most difficult challenges. Behind each of its
innovations and programs, TerraPower actively works to bring
together the strengths and experiences of the world's public and
private sectors to use advanced nuclear to answer pressing global
needs. Learn more at https://terrapower.com/.
About Centrus Energy
Centrus is a trusted supplier of
nuclear fuel and services for the nuclear power industry. Centrus
provides value to its utility customers through the reliability and
diversity of its supply sources – helping them meet the growing
need for clean, affordable, carbon-free electricity. Since 1998,
the Company has provided its utility customers with more than 1,750
reactor years of fuel, which is equivalent to 7 billion tons of
coal.
With world-class technical capabilities, Centrus offers turnkey
engineering and advanced manufacturing solutions to its customers.
The Company is also advancing the next generation of centrifuge
technologies so that America can restore its domestic uranium
enrichment capability in the future. Find out more at
www.centrusenergy.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
This news release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 – that is, statements related
to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements may
address our expected future business and financial performance, and
often contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends",
"plans", "believes", "will", "should", "could", "would" or "may"
and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements by
their nature address matters that are, to different degrees,
uncertain. For Centrus Energy Corp., particular risks and
uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements
include: risks associated with our reliance on third-party
suppliers to provide essential products and services to us; the
impact of government regulation including by DOE and the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission; uncertainty regarding our ability to
commercially deploy competitive enrichment technology; risks and
uncertainties regarding funding for the American Centrifuge project
and our ability to perform under our agreement with DOE to
demonstrate the capability to produce HALEU; the potential
for further demobilization or termination of the American
Centrifuge project; risks related to our ability to perform and
receive timely payment under agreements with the DOE, including
risk and uncertainties related to the ongoing funding of the
government and potential audits; the competitive bidding process
associated with obtaining a federal contract; risks related to our
ability to perform fixed-price contracts, including the risk that
costs could be higher than expected; risks that we will be unable
to obtain new business opportunities, achieve market acceptance of
our products and services or that products or services provided by
others will render our goods or services obsolete or
noncompetitive; risks that we will not be able to timely complete
the work that we are obligated to perform; the competitive
environment for our products and services; changes in the nuclear
energy industry; the impact of financial market conditions on our
business, liquidity, prospects, pension assets and insurance
facilities; the risks of revenue and operating results fluctuating
significantly from quarter to quarter, and in some cases, year to
year; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in this and our
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including under Part 1. Item1A – "Risk Factors" in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and quarterly reports on Form
10-Q.
TerraPower Contact:
press@terrapower.com
Centrus Contacts:
Media -- Lindsey Geisler (301) 564-3392 or
GeislerLR@centrusenergy.com
Investors -- Dan Leistikow (301)
564-3399 or LeistikowD@centrusenergy.com
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SOURCE Centrus Energy Corp.