Orano USA to Locate Uranium Enrichment Operations in Oak Ridge

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter and Orano USA officials announced the company has selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the preferred site to construct a new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility.

The uranium enrichment center will be a multi-structure commercial production site covering approximately 750,000 square feet, making it one of the largest in North America. Facility operations will create more than 300 new direct jobs in Roane County.

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, used nuclear fuel management and recycling, decommissioning shutdown nuclear energy facilities, federal site clean-up and closure and developing nuclear medicines to fight cancer.

Orano will be the second company to locate in Tennessee utilizing the Nuclear Energy Fund, which assists nuclear energy-related businesses choosing to relocate or grow in the Volunteer State and supports the state’s universities and research institutions in further developing their nuclear education programs.

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 the 2024 legislative session.

The project announced was vetted and recommended by the Education and Workforce subgroup, part of the 22-member Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council.

Source: State of TN ECD, by Lindsey Tipton

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

 

Published September 4, 2024