Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Deputy Gov. and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter and Centrus Energy President and CEO Amir Vexler announced today that Centrus (NYSE: LEU) plans a major expansion in East Tennessee, transitioning its Oak Ridge facility to a high-rate manufacturing plant.

As part of the expansion, Centrus plans to create nearly 430 new jobs and invest more than $560 million in Anderson County over the next several years to support both the growth in workforce and investment in the production of thousands of advanced centrifuges.

Today’s announcement supports Centrus’ recently announced plans for a major expansion of its Ohio uranium enrichment plant, which will help the company meet America’s commercial and national security requirements. The first new centrifuges produced in Tennessee are expected to come online in Ohio in 2029.

Centrus’ Technology and Manufacturing Center in Oak Ridge is the only uranium enrichment centrifuge manufacturing facility in the U.S. The company recently was awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to expand its uranium enrichment plant in Ohio with centrifuges produced in Tennessee.

Centrus is the eighth company to utilize funding from Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Fund. The $50 million fund was in Gov. Lee’s recommended 2023-2024 budget and approved by the Tennessee General Assembly. An additional $10 million was allocated and approved in the state’s budget during both the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions, bringing the fund’s total to $70 million since its inception.

Source: TN ECD

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org