WASHINGTON, Sept. 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At a special briefing for
policymakers on Capitol Hill today, Centrus said that the
$3.4 billion that Congress has made
available for domestic nuclear fuel production should be focused on
deploying American uranium enrichment technology that is
manufactured in the United States,
by American workers, as opposed to foreign-origin centrifuge
technologies that are manufactured overseas.
A copy of the briefing slides as well as a handout are available
on the Centrus website. Video of the briefing is available here:
https://www.centrusenergy.com/news/video-centrus-capitol-hill-briefing.
"The need to transition away from Russian nuclear fuel, coupled
with a historic investment in U.S. nuclear fuel production approved
by Congress, has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to
restore America's domestic supply chain for enriched uranium," said
Amir Vexler, President and CEO of
Centrus. "We should not be content to trade dependence on
Russia for dependence on
China, or Europe, or anywhere else. The time has come to
invest in American enrichment technology, built by American
workers, with an American supply chain."
Vexler was joined at the briefing by leaders of approximately 14
large and small businesses with work locations in 13 states,
representing Centrus' nationwide supply chain. These American-owned
companies and many others would provide critical components and
other support to Centrus if the federal government decides to
support deployment of Centrus' American Centrifuge technology,
which is manufactured in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee and operated in Piketon, Ohio.
Under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, Centrus has
deployed a cascade of sixteen centrifuges at the American
Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio,
and is pioneering production of an advanced reactor fuel called
High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU). Centrus' goal is to
expand the capacity of the plant with thousands of additional
centrifuges to accommodate large-scale production of Low-Enriched
Uranium (LEU) for existing reactors and HALEU for next generation
reactors. This will require a public private partnership including
robust federal investment alongside private capital and purchase
agreements from customers.
Centrus is competing for federal funding under a series of
Requests for Proposals (RFPs) issued by the U.S. Department of
Energy. These RFPs are backed by more than $3.4 billion in Congressional appropriations that
were approved as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 and
the bipartisan government funding bill in March 2024.
About Centrus Energy Corp.
Centrus Energy is a trusted supplier of nuclear fuel and
services for the nuclear power industry. Centrus provides value to
its utility customers through the reliability and diversity of its
supply sources – helping them meet the growing need for clean,
affordable, carbon-free electricity. Since 1998, the Company has
provided its utility customers with more than 1,750 reactor years
of fuel, which is equivalent to 7 billion tons of coal. With
world-class technical and engineering capabilities, Centrus is also
advancing the next generation of centrifuge technologies so that
America can restore its domestic uranium enrichment capability.
Find out more at www.centrusenergy.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements
related to future events, which may impact our expected future
business and financial performance, and often contain words such as
"expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "will",
"should", "could", "would" or "may" and other words of similar
meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information
available to us as of the date of this news release and represent
management's current views and assumptions with respect to future
events and operational, economic and financial performance.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance, events or results and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our
control.
For Centrus Energy Corp., particular risks and uncertainties
(hereinafter "risks") that could cause our actual future results to
differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking
statements and which are, and may be, exacerbated by any worsening
of the global business and economic environment include but are not
limited to the following: risks related to the U.S. Department of
Energy ("DOE") not awarding any contracts to the Company in
response to any of the Company's proposals; risks related to our
ability to secure financing to expand our plant; risks related to
our ability to increase capacity in a timely manner to meet market
demand or our contractual obligations; risks related to laws that
ban (i) imports of Russian LEU into the
United States, including the "Prohibiting Russian Uranium
Imports Act" ("Import Ban Act") or (ii) transactions with the
Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ("Rosatom") or its
subsidiaries, which includes TENEX; risks related to our potential
inability to secure additional waivers or other exceptions from the
Import Ban Act or sanctions in a timely manner or at all in order
to allow us to continue importing Russian LEU under the TENEX
Supply Contract or otherwise doing business with TENEX or
implementing the TENEX Supply Contract; risks related to TENEX's
refusal or inability to deliver LEU to us for any reason including
because (i) U.S. or foreign government sanctions or bans are
imposed on LEU from Russia or on
TENEX, (ii) TENEX is unable or unwilling to deliver LEU, receive
payments, receive the return of natural uranium hexafluoride, or
conduct other activities related to the TENEX Supply Contract, or
(iii) TENEX elects, or is directed (including by its owner or the
Russian government ), to limit or stop transactions with us or with
the United States or other
countries; risks related to the increasing quantities of LEU being
imported into the U.S. from China
and the impact on our ability to make future LEU or SWU sales or
ability to finance any buildout of our enrichment capacities; risks
related to whether or when government funding or demand for
high-assay low-enriched uranium ("HALEU") for government or
commercial uses will materialize and at what level; risks related
to (i) our ability to perform and absorb costs under our agreement
with the DOE to deploy and operate a cascade of centrifuges to
demonstrate production of HALEU for advanced reactors (the "HALEU
Operation Contract"), (ii) our ability to obtain new contracts and
funding to be able to continue operations and (iii) our ability to
obtain and/or perform under other agreements; risks related to
reliance on the only firm that has the necessary permits and
capability to transport LEU from Russia to the United
States and that firm's ability to maintain those permits and
capabilities or secure additional permits; risks that (i) we
may not obtain the full benefit of the HALEU Operation Contract and
may not be able or allowed to operate the HALEU enrichment facility
to produce HALEU after the completion of the HALEU Operation
Contract or (ii) the output from the HALEU enrichment facility may
not be available to us as a future source of supply; risks
related to the fact that we face significant competition from major
LEU producers who may be less cost sensitive or are wholly or
partially government owned; risks related to the potential for
demobilization or termination of the HALEU Operation Contract.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this
news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that
could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any
forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. Readers
are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures
made in this news release and in our filings with the SEC,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2023, under Part II, Item 1A - "Risk Factors" in
our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
June 30, 2024, and in our filings with the SEC that attempt to
advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect
our business. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after
the date of this news release, except as required by law.
Contacts:
Investors: Dan Leistikow at
LeistikowD@centrusenergy.com
Media: Lindsey Geisler at
GeislerLR@centrusenergy.com
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