NEWS - Orano has been selected by @ENERGY for a $900 million award for the domestic production of low-enriched uranium (LEU).
This decision is a key milestone to accelerate Orano’s development of its $5 billion #ProjectIkeEnrichment facility project in Oak Ridge, #Tennessee, to deliver new, diversified, and competitively priced U.S.-based production of enriched uranium for powering American nuclear energy reactors.
By leveraging internationally proven centrifuge technology and decades of operational expertise, Orano’s development of a new American uranium enrichment facility is designed to quickly produce and scale supply with modular extensions to meet current and future U.S. market needs.
“We are honored by DOE’s decision to identify Project IKE as a key driver for U.S. energy security,” said Jean-Luc Palayer, CEO of Orano USA. “Orano’s Project IKE facility is designed to generate a secure and significant American-based supply of enriched #uranium. For Orano, there is no mystery to making enriched uranium—and a lot of it—when you have reliable centrifuges, existing transport containers, and enrichment processes refined over decades of successful commercial operations.”
Read more ... https://t.co/9Wvsch4U3A
On #NationalHamburgerDay 🍔, we're chewing on the tasty fact that our Project IKE license application is now in an accelerated 12-month review by @NRCgov (that's fast service!).
... And that we're another bite closer to eating away at the 60% of enriched #uranium that has to be imported into the United States to fuel nuclear energy reactors.
How? By making a lot more of it in America. 🇺🇸
Our #ProjectIkeEnrichment facility development in @cityofoakridge, Tennessee, has an initial production that would supply almost 30% of the current U.S. market need.⚛️
That's worth savoring. 😋 #moreplease #ProjectIKE #uranium
Project IKE: https://t.co/lOgO1rbcW8
STUDENTS: Take another step on your nuclear energy career path by attending the @ETEC_tn NOW conference! Get this special rate to attend 👇. We'll see you at our booth, and let's talk about a future with #ProjectIkeEnrichment and #OranoHires.
Students, interns, and postdocs can attend NOW 2026 at a reduced rate or FREE through the Student Engagement Option.
Hosting interns this summer? Encourage them to attend.
Learn more & register: https://t.co/gL35n4YQWt
#ETECNOW#NOW2026#NuclearIsHere
Yes, we're developing our #ProjectIkeEnrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with an initial 4M SWU capacity. The enriched #uranium output from this one facility can replace the amount the U.S. imports from Russia. Our license submission was just accepted by the NRC for review on an accelerated 12-month timeline. Read more: https://t.co/Z5UBZ6EuvB
"So, what's the plan?" 👀
In this video clip, @SenMarkKelly posed that question to the NRC leadership seated before him after detailing how the current American nuclear fuel supply "is in a precarious place."
- building more reactors does not get us anywhere without the fuel to operate them
- more than 80% of America's enriched uranium is supplied from overseas
- notably 20% of the enriched #uranium comes from Russia, "clearly that's a problem"
In their responses, Commissioner Douglas Weaver noted the DOE funding for multiple types of uranium enrichment production.
⚛️ Orano was the sole company selected for the DOE award to establish a robust domestic low-enriched uranium supply.
NRC Chairman Ho Nieh highlighted Orano's license application now under staff acceptance review for Project IKE, a large uranium enrichment facility development in @cityofoakridge, Tennessee.
He then laid out how the NRC "is going to be an enabling regulator" using an intentional, timely thought process to ensure the license meets NRC regulatory requirements.
He emphasized that ...
- Orano has an enrichment facility in operation today in France
- The same exact technology is planned for the Project IKE enrichment facility
- Project IKE builds on a technology we had in the U.S. a few decades ago, the Eagle Rock enrichment facility license
- @NRCgov staff is looking into how to leverage this prior licensing experience
- Validate and complete the license application review as soon as possible so Orano can start building
👉 NRC Chairman Nieh: "Because I agree 100% with you. This is a huge gap. It is national #security for the United States, and NRC will do its part by not being an impediment to getting the fuel cycle up and running on the front end."
Watch 👇 and then learn more about how Orano's #ProjectIkeEnrichment can help re-establish a robust and secure American nuclear fuel supply: https://t.co/lOgO1rbcW8
📢A major milestone for advanced reactor nuclear fuel transportation!
Orano is ramping up serial production of 30B-10 cylinders designed for transporting #uranium enriched up to 10% (LEU+).
This cylinder production supports the nuclear industry's quickly evolving needs for higher-assay fuels and robust, industrial-scale transportation solutions for fueling advanced reactors.
👉 Another important step forward ...
The industry standard #ANSI N14.1 will be amended to officially include both 30B-10 and 30B-20 cylinder standards, reinforcing the framework for next-generation fuel transport (read about ANSI N14.1 in the Comment link).
👉 But wait, there's more ...
Serial production of 30B-20 cylinders — designed for transporting uranium enriched up to 19.75% (#HALEU) — will begin soon, further supporting the launch of advanced reactors in the United States and worldwide.
With these new uranium transport solutions, Orano continues to strengthen and supply the infrastructure needed for achieving the future of reliable and secure nuclear energy.
Read more about the production launch: https://t.co/4zVwgDnU52
#30BX #LEUplus #ansi #AdvancedReactors #NuclearEnergy #SMR #SMRAR
@OskaArcher These are fresh fuel canisters and transport casks for uranium enriched up to 10% and 20%. Once the uranium is delivered to a fuel manufacturer and removed from the 30B-10 or 30B-20 canister, the canister is then refreshed and used again.
Details about the new TN Eagle used nuclear fuel storage/transport cask?
👉 There's a booth for that!
Come explore our #UFMC26 booth with its TN Eagle 3-D model, brochures about cask customizations for BWRs/PWRs and SMRs, video highlighting features and benefits, and team members to discuss fabrication, storage, transport, and licensing.
Offsite? Learn more: #TNEagle and https://t.co/GekgpqswR0
Today: Orano experts are speaking on two panels during @NEI's Used Fuel Management Conference.
8:00 a.m., Chatham Ballroom C
Aging Gracefully
10:30 a.m., Chatham Ballroom C
Risky Business (Not)
Plus, keep an eye on #UFMC26 for new content and information.
We’re proud to help host this year's @NEI Used Fuel Management Conference full of experts, ideas, and innovation. 💡
Catch Orano’s team on panels and in the booth for updates about our new TN Eagle dual-purpose cask and innovative used nuclear fuel management.
Plus, keep an eye on #UFMC26 and #TNEagle for new content and information.
You might be on track today to @NEI's Used Fuel Management Conference in Savannah if …
1. Almost everyone on your plane paid attention to the pre-flight Safety Card briefing. #safetyfirst
2. Mid-flight you ask AI to compare the average annual #radiation exposure of a nuclear facility worker (1-2 mSv), a frequent flier (1.5-2.5 mSv), and the flight crew (3-6 mSv).
3. Many passengers getting on your small plane went up the gangway using the handrail.
4. Another passenger’s computer bag sports an “Ask me about Nuclear Energy” button from @Nuclear_Matters.
5. Your @Uber driver asks if you know anything about recycling used nuclear fuel. 👍
See you at #UFMC26 and come by the Orano booth!
Simpler Process = Less Handling & Less Risk 💡⚛️
Using Orano's new #TNEagle dual-purpose cask trims out many of the steps for storing and transporting used nuclear fuel.
1. Fill cask with used nuclear fuel assemblies
2. Close cask
3. Move cask to onsite storage pad 👍
4. For transport, place cask on vehicle and ship to destination
5. Move cask to storage pad
Now that's #OneAndDone!
👉 Plus, check out these TN Eagle capabilities ...
- accommodates up to 80 BWR or 37 PWR fuel assemblies per cask
- including the shortest to the longest fuel on the market today
- configured to different heat loads and loading constraints
- adapts to various fuel designs from SMRs and advanced reactors
🎥 Watch the TN Eagle video for details at the link in the Replies.
... and let's talk! Come by our booth at next week's @NEI Used Fuel Management Conference. See you at #UFMC26!
VIDEO - Our new TN Eagle transport/storage cask is already on the move! 👏👏👏
Along with ongoing transports to customers by truck of the newly manufactured TN Eagle, the NTS ship Pacific Grebe is now ready to transport TN Eagle casks around the world.
The robust and customizable dual-purpose TN Eagle cask is designed to simplify the process and reduce risks for handling used nuclear fuel by performing as both a storage cask and a transport cask. 🏆
Here's how ... Using a #TNEagle cask completely avoids these steps in the current process of moving used fuel from the reactor to storage ...
- lifting and moving a loaded used nuclear fuel canister out of the reactor's transfer cask and into the onsite storage module
- reversing the process and removing the canister from the storage module and into a transport cask for offsite consolidation
- and, finally, taking the canister back out of the transport cask and placing it into the destination storage.
👉 Takeaway: With the TN Eagle, the used nuclear fuel canister stays sealed inside the same robust and secure cask for the entire process. #safetyfirst
Watch the @NTSolutionsUK video and read the details: https://t.co/r1Q0HiAf30
A New Force Rising ... #MayThe4thBeWithYou ✨
"There's an invisible force powering and propelling our way of life ... If you look close enough, you can see all the wonderous things it does."
Watch! https://t.co/CdD9aUKRvw