The Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted Orano USA’s Project IKE uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. for an accelerated review on May 21.
NRC said in a press release it plans to complete its technical review of Orano’s construction permit application within 12 months. That evaluation will include a detailed safety and security analysis and environmental review to “ensure the proposed facility meets NRC requirements for protecting public health and the environment,” NRC said.
A formal hearing process will come after the technical review and specific dates will be set soon, NRC said.
Orano filed its environmental report for its multi-billion-dollar uranium enrichment facility, named Project IKE, in late January. That was followed by its submission of the technical portion in late March.
Orano’s facility will use gas centrifuge technology to produce low-enriched uranium (LEU) for commercial nuclear reactors. Orano said in a press release that the application integrates experience from its French-based parent company’s uranium centrifuges at its Georges Besse 2 facility in France.
The company said that the Georges Besse 2 facility currently helps supply nuclear fuel for American reactors. It is also leveraging its construction experience with the ongoing 30% expansion in capacity underway at Georges Besse 2.
“For 15 years Orano has used ETC [Enrichment Technology Company] centrifuges in France to reliably enrich and supply uranium for powering American reactors,” said Jean-Luc Palayer, CEO of Orano USA. “Now, we are planning to generate that same secure nuclear fuel supply using the same proven technology and processes at our Project IKE facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.”
Orano’s $5 billion Project IKE project is supported by a $900 million award from the Department of Energy to expand domestic LEU capacity. Project IKE, announced in 2024, aims to reduce foreign reliance on enriched uranium and add a new source of domestic fuel, Orano said.
The project also received capital from Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Fund.
Project IKE is located on a 624-acre panel of unused former Manhattan Project land recently transferred from DOE to the City of Oak Ridge’s Industrial Development Board.