Centrus Energy and Oklo signed a letter of intent Thursday that would have Centrus supply high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to fuel up to five of Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse reactors.
According to Centrus’ press release, the company would provide HALEU from its American Centrifuge Plant in Pike County, Ohio to Oklo’s planned 1,200-megawatt power campus near the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse is a sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses metal fuel.
Oklo’s reactors would supply power to Meta data centers in the region. In March, DOE announced that the Portsmouth site was selected to host a multi-billion-dollar data center and power project, with nuclear power being included as a longer-term goal for the project.
Oklo signed a memorandum of understanding with Kiewit Nuclear Solutions to support the construction of the Aurora powerhouses in Ohio. The company said it expects to begin operations in 2029.
The letter of intent could include prepayments from Oklo to Centrus to assist with fuel supply for Oklo’s planned campus, according to the release.
This method follows Oklo’s announcement with Meta, which included prepayment to advance project certainty for Oklo’s planned Aurora powerhouse campus, as stated in the release.
“Today’s announcement is an important step toward ensuring reliable HALEU supply for next generation reactors and represents a crucial milestone as we work to restore America’s ability to enrich uranium at scale,” said Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler.
“By connecting advanced nuclear power generation and customer demand with domestic HALEU production in southern Ohio, this agreement helps establish a foundation for a new U.S. advanced nuclear energy hub,” Vexler said.
With this letter of intent, Centrus and Oklo deepened their partnership as the companies have already agreed to collaborate on other fuel-related activities. In March, the two companies agreed to seek to create a joint venture focused on deconversion services for HALEU and fuel cycle technologies.