The US state of Tennessee and the French nuclear fuel company Orano have announced that Orano has chosen Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the preferred location for its uranium enrichment plant. The company is currently preparing the next required steps for the plant, including securing US federal support, customer commitments, and obtaining a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and approval from Orano’s board. Besides the expected federal funds, the project is also supported by Tennessee's Nuclear Energy Fund, which has about US$60m to support the development of the US state nuclear ecosystem.
In May 2024, the US passed the “Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act” to end dependence on Russian enriched uranium by imposing a ban on the importation into the US of low-enriched uranium (LEU) produced in Russia or by a Russian entity. The bill also freed up US$2.7bn passed in previous legislation to build out the US’ domestic uranium processing industry.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US nuclear power plants imported around 12% of their uranium from Russia in 2022.