Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
1/30/2015

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has extended its American Centrifuge Technology Demonstration and Operations contract with Centrus Energy Corp. through Sept. 30. The $41.7 million deal was expected after the Fiscal Year 2015 omnibus spending bill included $97.2 million for domestic uranium enrichment research, development and demonstration. Under the agreement, Oak Ridge National Laboratory manages the work, while Centrus maintains the American Centrifuge technology for possible future deployment. While Centrus is hoping for deployment of a train of centrifuges for national security purposes, the Department of Energy has not yet made any decisions on the future of the technology but has a report due to Congress later this year on uranium enrichment needs.

The agreement previously had been set to expire on March 31, and requires Centrus to gather technical report and data that it presents to ORNL. “Our American Centrifuge team continues to make solid progress executing the ACTDO agreement,” Centrus Vice President for American Centrifuge Steven Penrod said in a statement. “We are operating a cascade of machines and demonstrating this remarkable uranium enrichment technology that is capable of supporting our country’s national security objectives. We appreciate ORNL’s confidence in our team’s work through their support of this six-month extension.”