Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
3/6/2015

Former Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman has been named president and chief executive officer of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp. Poneman, who left his DOE post in October 2014 after being the longest serving deputy secretary, is known for his DOE work on nonproliferation and nuclear energy policy, including DOE programs supporting Centrus’ American Centrifuge Project when the company was known as USEC. Poneman will join Centrus immediately and take over as CEO later this month, as well as serve on the company’s board of directors. He will replace interim CEO John Castellano.

Poneman will lead the company in a time of transition following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy financial restructuring completed last fall, which resulted in a new Board of Directors and the name switch to Centrus from USEC. The announcement comes after a months-long search by Centrus’ Board following the resignation of former CEO John Welch in October. The firm has struggled financially since a drop in nuclear fuel demand following the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima plant in Japan. The company had been pursuing a $2 billion Department of Energy loan guarantee for its American Centrifuge Plant, but withdrew its application and in 2012 entered into a DOE cost-share demonstration program that used more than $260 million in DOE funds.

Explaining the government support, Poneman as deputy secretary and other DOE officials cited at the time the need for a domestic enrichment source as a national security concern. When the cost-share program wrapped up last year, DOE took over management of the technology in May 2014. Centrus is currently maintaining American Centrifuge under a subcontract to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. With the shutdown of its Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 2013, the company’s main source of revenue in recent years has been as a broker for uranium under a supply agreement with Russia’s TENEX.

American Centrifuge Can ‘Play a Vital Role,’ Poneman Says

Poneman said in a statement late this week that he is “honored” to be able to lead Centrus. “I am excited about working with the board and management team to rebuild Centrus as an industry leader that continues its record of delivering nuclear fuel on-time and in-spec to our utility customers,” Poneman said. “I believe the American Centrifuge technology can play a vital role in meeting America’s national security and non-proliferation goals, while preserving the option of commercial deployment when industry demand for nuclear fuel improves later this decade.”

Centrus Board of Directors Chairman Mikel Williams hailed Poneman’s appointment. “We are delighted to have a leader with Dan’s experience and vision joining Centrus at this pivotal point for our Company and the nuclear power industry,” Williams said in a statement. “His exceptional experience across a range of energy and national security disciplines will be a significant asset to our Company. Dan has the international experience to further develop Centrus’ business as dozens of new power reactors currently under construction around the world come online.”