Centrus Energy said Tuesday it expects to pay nearly $30 million out of its own pocket to develop a new, made-with-American-parts uranium enrichment cascade for the Department of Energy.
Centrus on Monday announced it had finalized a three-year, $115 million contract with DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy to build the 16-machine cascade at the Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio. In an 8-K filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission., the Bethesda, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier said its share of the cost-sharing pact will be about $29 million. It will recognize most of that as a loss in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Centrus plans to publish a copy of its agreement with the Office of Nuclear Energy early in 2020, along with its 10-K statement reporting full-year earnings for 2019, the company stated in Tuesday’s filing.
Under the now-finalized contract, Centrus is to produce 600 kilograms of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel — consisting of about 20% uranium-235 — using AC100-M centrifuges. The National Nuclear Security Administration is set by December to decide if AC100 technology could be used for national defense in a new domestic enrichment facility.
In 2038, the NNSA will need a new source of low-enriched uranium to help produce tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons. For this purpose, the agency may only use only uranium enriched in machines built entirely from U.S.-made parts. Parts made in other countries could carry peaceful-use restrictions, meaning that under international conventions they may not be used for weapons programs.
Centrus is due to report its third-quarter earnings after market close Thursday. The company plans to host an investor conference call Friday morning.