Project IKE Enrichment

On September 4, 2024, the State of Tennessee and Orano announced the selection of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as Orano's Preferred Site to construct a multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility.

This is a major milestone towards bringing a new U.S. enrichment facility online to help meet America’s need for an increased, secure domestic nuclear fuel supply.

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Orano is advancing through the processes to secure the land, the financing from the federal government, the customer commitments, and the license to build this much-needed American enrichment facility.

Orano's uranium enrichment center in Oak Ridge will be a multi-structure commercial production site covering approximately 750,000 square feet, making it one of the largest in America.

Facility operations will create an estimated 305 new direct jobs in Roane County and new business for regional suppliers.

Our focus is to ensure that U.S. nuclear utility customers can reliably perform their mission of generating steady and clean electricity – like TVA. This energy is vitally important to power our daily lives and energize economic development.

Orano's Enrichment Expertise

For more than 40 years, enriched uranium from Orano’s facilities has reliably powered America’s nuclear reactors.

We are now developing a new enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, TN, to ensure a reliable, abundant, and secure domestic supply for the future.

Using proven technology and an American supply chain, we will be ready to power America’s increasing demand for nuclear energy.

Orano has more than 60 years of industrial experience in uranium conversion, chemistry and enrichment and recently modernized its facilities in France for decades more of reliable operations and supply.

Today, Orano provides 12% of global uranium enrichment capacity through its Tricastin fuel enrichment site in France and is expanding that capacity by 30% to help meet global demand.

The Need for Orano's New American Enrichment Facility

The U.S. has set a goal of a 4x increase of domestic nuclear energy by 2050.

That equals a 12x increase of domestic enrichment capacity!

To achieve this required domestic enrichment output, we need all suppliers running full bore—it's not an either/or.

Our Project IKE enrichment facility planned for Oak Ridge, TN, is designed as a major source for reliable, diversified, domestic capacity.

30 years ago, the United States was the world leader in producing enriched uranium. Today, the U.S. produces only one-third of what it needs.

With the ban on importing the formerly significant supply of Russian enriched uranium, the U.S. needs to quickly ramp up new sources.

A sufficient, reliable, American fuel supply is an increasing national security imperative.

Orano is stepping up to bring our best and to apply our expertise to build a modern American enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, TN.

Proactive funding actions by Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy and clear Customer interest enabled Orano to make the significant decision to pursue an enrichment facility in the U.S.

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FAQs

What is happening?
In 2024, Orano USA selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the preferred site for establishing a $5 billion-dollar uranium enrichment facility, termed Project IKE. In 2026, Project IKE was sole-selected by the Department of Energy to receive a $900 million award to produce a significant and reliable American supply of low-enriched uranium to power the nation’s commercial nuclear energy reactors. Hiring continues for open positions—see the Job Openings section, below.

Who is Orano USA?
For more than 40 years, enriched uranium from Orano’s centrifuges has reliably powered America’s nuclear reactors. Orano businesses have operated in the U.S. for 60 years. With U.S. headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, and global headquarters in Paris, France, Orano is a leading technology and services provider for the commercial and federal nuclear industries. The company specializes in uranium mining/conversion/enrichment, supporting advanced reactor development, used nuclear fuel management and recycling, decommissioning shutdown nuclear energy facilities, federal site cleanup and closure, and developing nuclear medicines to fight cancer. Globally, Orano has more than 60 years of industrial experience in uranium conversion, chemistry and enrichment and recently modernized its facilities for decades more of reliable operations and supply. Orano currently provides 12% of global uranium enrichment capacity through its fuel enrichment site in France.

Where is the site?
The 624-acre Project IKE site is the greenfield property east of the 95/58 intersection in Roane County near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The site was originally referred to as DOE Self Sufficiency Parcel 2 (SSP-2). It is located across the street from the Horizon Industrial Center and surrounding the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC).

What criteria were involved in the siting decision?
Key criteria included the world-class, reliable power supply available from TVA, strong community and state support, remarkable educational systems providing employee pipelines, available qualified workforce, and environmental considerations.

Has Project IKE received federal funding?
On January 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Orano was the sole provider selected for the $900 million award for low-enriched uranium supply. This is important funding for Orano's $5 billion Project IKE development.

What's happening on the site now?
SSP-2 was transferred by the Department of Energy to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and then to Orano in March 2026. Most of the site has never been used. Initial site preparations are expected to begin in 2026. Along with this photo of the SSP-2 property, see the DOE graphic, below.

How large is the planned facility?
The facility design is for a 750,000 square foot facility, similar to our operating enrichment facility in Tricastin, France. Ultimately, the enrichment facility’s design and capacity will depend on U.S. customer demand and market needs. For a close look, go on a virtual tour of Orano's enrichment facility in Tricastin.

Orano has committed to an extensive American supply chain for constructing the 750,000 square-foot Project IKE facility, assembling and installing the imported centrifuge components, manufacturing and installing the extensive material-handling equipment and systems, and supporting the ongoing uranium enrichment operations.

At what stage is the NRC licensing process?
The Project IKE team submitted the facility license in March 2026. The licensing process can last up to three years, though new NRC efficiencies may shorten that duration.

How would this project benefit the local community?
Building and operating this new facility would create hundreds of jobs, a new supply chain of local vendors and small businesses, expanded tax base, and cooperation with regional technical and education institutions to develop a robust pipeline of skilled and professional workers.

Concept rendering of Orano's Project IKE uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Orano Project IKE facility rendering

How soon will the facility begin operations?
With the timely completion of required milestones, significant enrichment operations could begin in the early 2030s. Separately, Orano opened a 40-person office in Oak Ridge in May 2025.

How many jobs will be created?
More than 300 operational jobs would be created at the facility and an expected 1,000 construction jobs during development. For open job postings, see below.

What types of jobs are in an enrichment facility?
The jobs are a mix of professional and skilled workers, including management, engineers, safety professionals, laboratory technicians, training personnel, electricians, maintenance staff, health physics technicians, security force personnel, and transportation specialists.

What does a uranium enrichment facility do?
The uranium enrichment process is one of the steps in producing fuel for nuclear reactors. Current U.S. commercial light water nuclear reactors are powered with fuel containing 3-6% of uranium-235, depending on their designs. When raw uranium is mined, it consists of approximately 99.3% uranium-238, 0.7% uranium-235, and < 0.01% uranium-234. The enrichment process increases the percentage of uranium-235 in the fuel material, called uranium hexafluoride (UF6). Once the UF6 is enriched to the desired percentage of uranium-235, it is sent to a fuel fabricator to create the specific fuel form for loading into the different types of reactors.

How much enriched uranium will be produced?
The output of an enrichment facility is measured in “separative work units” (SWU), which is a calculation standardizing many enrichment process variables into a comparable number. This expandable facility’s initial annual production capacity is 4 million SWU. For reference, in 2025, U.S. utilities purchased 15 million SWU from domestic and international providers, including from Orano’s Tricastin enrichment facility in France. (EIA).

Will the facility produce LEU, LEU+, and HALEU?
Based on customer demand and federal support, this Project IKE facility can be structured for various enrichment levels. The current license design is for low-enriched uranium (LEU+) production up to 10%. Orano was selected in a Department of Energy award announced January 5, 2025, as the sole supplier of low-enriched uranium (LEU) generated by new domestic sources.

For high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) up to 19.75%, Orano was also selected by the DOE for future task orders within the HALEU enrichment and deconversion contracts.

With appropriate market demand and federal support, a HALEU facility to enrich uranium for fueling certain advanced reactors could be co-located with the LEU facility on the Project IKE site to achieve cost and process efficiencies. Orano already has licensed HALEU transport systems to securely deliver this fuel to advanced reactor developers.

Is Oak Ridge National Lab involved in this project?
No, ORNL is not directly involved with our project.

Is TVA involved in this project?
No, TVA is not directly involved with our project, though access to its steady power supply was a significant factor in the siting decision and utilities would be customers of this facility's production.

Is this project part of the NNSA’s DEUCE program?
No, the Orano facility is not part of the NNSA’s Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) program for U.S. national security needs, developed and managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to advance uranium enrichment expertise and technology. Project IKE will enrich uranium for commercial nuclear energy reactors and will not be licensed for producing the higher levels of enrichment needed for national security purposes.

Why is this enrichment facility development code-named Project IKE?
"Project IKE" relates to President "Ike" Eisenhower and his historic Atoms for Peace speech to the United Nations about using atomic energy for peaceful means and the public good.

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Resources

Orano's Oak Ridge office: 151 Lafayette Dr, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Video: Orano's Project IKE 2025
https://youtu.be/BjXhK57yXl4

Podcast: New Orano Plant Boosts Nuclear Growth. Gone Fission interview with Orano USA CEO Palayer, 12/10/2024
https://youtu.be/TvVFa1IypSE

Orano Enrichment & Processing
https://www.orano.group/en/nuclear-expertise/from-exploration-to-recycling/international-expert-in-uranium-processing

Online Interactive Immersion Tour of Orano's Tricastin Enrichment Facility
https://www.orano.group/visite-tricastin

NRC – Uranium Enrichment
https://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/ur-enrichment.html

News

Media contact: Curtis Roberts, Press Officer, curtis.roberts(at)orano.group

4/22/2026 - Orano USA and NABTU Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Support Construction of Project IKE Uranium Enrichment Facility

4/03/2026 - Orano, Oak Ridge IDB sign pact, transfer land for uranium enrichment

3/09/2026 - DOE Completes Largest Land Transfer Yet in Oak Ridge, Spurring New Economic Growth

1/05/2026 - Orano Selected for U.S. Department of Energy $900M Energy Security Funding to Produce Low-Enriched Uranium with a New American Uranium Enrichment Facility

6/11/2025 - Fox News Asher Redd interview with Orano USA CEO Palayer: Trump's nuclear strategy takes shape as former Manhattan Project site powers up for AI race against China

12/11/2024 - Orano Awarded DOE LEU Enrichment Contract

11/22/2024 - Orano Begins Hiring for Project Ike Enrichment Facility in Tennessee

10/17/2024 - Orano Awarded DOE HALEU Enrichment Contract

10/08/2024 - Orano Proposal Accepted by DOE for HALEU Deconversion Contract Award

9/04/2024 - Governor Lee, Commissioner McWhorter Announce Orano USA Seeks to Locate Uranium Enrichment Operations in Oak Ridge, TN Economic & Community Development

10/26/2023 - Orano Announces 30% Increase in Uranium Enrichment Capacity by 2028

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Job Openings

#OranoHires

Along with these open positions for developing our Project IKE enrichment facility, keep an eye on our Careers page and on LinkedIn as we continue seeking qualified candidates for jobs in Oak Ridge, TN, and Bethesda, MD.

With more than 300 jobs associated with Project IKE, we have many more jobs to fill!

Click the link to open the job description.