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Demonstrates companies' commitment to leading domestic fuel supply chain
Oklo Inc. (NYSE: Oklo) ("Oklo"), an advanced nuclear technology company, and Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE: LEU) ("Centrus"), a uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel services provider, announced today that the companies have agreed to pursue discussions regarding a joint venture focused on deconversion services for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and the advancement of related fuel-cycle technologies and supply chains. Activities under this joint venture would occur at Centrus' Piketon site in Pike County, southern Ohio, co-located with Centrus' enrichment operations and adjacent to Oklo's planned 1.2 GW power campus.
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After mined uranium is processed and enriched, it must be converted into a different chemical form such as uranium oxide or uranium metal—a step known as deconversion—before it can be fabricated into fuel to power advanced reactors. The potential joint venture would aim to enable an integrated and efficient coupling of uranium enrichment and deconversion to improve efficiency and costs through co-location and expand domestic advanced nuclear fuel capacity to serve Oklo's needs and broader U.S. nuclear deployment.
"Advanced nuclear energy development requires not only reactors but also reliable fuel-cycle capabilities that support those reactors," says CEO and co-founder of Oklo Jacob DeWitte. "This framework supports deeper discussions with Centrus on potential pathways to expand deconversion capacity, strengthen domestic supply chains, and advance a more efficient fuel-cycle model that operates from the same location."
"Centrus is laying the groundwork to rebuild the U.S. nuclear fuel-cycle capacity, including the services needed to support advanced reactor fuels," says Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler. "We look forward to exploring options to co-locate and scale deconversion services to improve efficiency and support growing demand."
Centrus and Oklo believe developing enrichment and deconversion services at Centrus' Piketon location will raise efficiency, expand domestic capacity, and help solve what is widely viewed as a potential nuclear fuel bottleneck to the pace of large-scale deployment of nuclear power technology. There are numerous HALEU-fueled reactor technologies under development today in the U.S., each of which may have their own separate fuel fabrication plant to meet the unique requirements of the design.
A central hub for deconversion services co-located with HALEU enrichment could eliminate the need for each fuel fabrication facility to establish its own deconversion line, which would enhance competitiveness for the entire industry. In addition, such a central hub could simplify and reduce the cost of shipping HALEU.
The parties plan to explore opportunities for potential coordination of regulatory and R&D activities, including joint engagement with U.S. federal agencies to propose solutions that support co-location of deconversion and enrichment services. The collaboration is also expected to include engagement with federal, state, and local initiatives to support the siting of deconversion services in Pike County, in line with broader efforts to strengthen the U.S. nuclear fuel-cycle infrastructure.
The potential collaboration would align with the broader redevelopment efforts led by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI), a nonprofit working to reuse land for regional development, to transform thousands of acres at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a hub for advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, affordable energy at global scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert used nuclear fuel into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.
About Centrus: Centrus Energy is a trusted American supplier of nuclear fuel and services for the nuclear power industry, helping meet the growing need for clean, affordable, carbon-free energy. Since 1998, the Company has provided its utility customers with more than 1,850 reactor years of fuel, which is equivalent to more than 7 billion tons of coal.
With world-class technical and engineering capabilities, Centrus is pioneering production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium and is leading the effort to restore America's uranium enrichment capabilities at scale so that we can meet our clean energy, energy security, and national security needs. Find out more at www.centrusenergy.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "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, which in this context means statements that express Oklo's and Centrus' opinions, expectations, objectives, beliefs, plans, intentions, strategies, assumptions, forecasts or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements." The words "may," "will," "could," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "continue," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "goal," "would," "commit," or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this press release and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the markets in which Oklo and/or Centrus operates. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties.
As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, the actual results or performance of Oklo may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following important risk factors could affect Oklo's future results and cause those results or other outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements: risks related to the development and deployment of Oklo's powerhouses, fuel fabrication and fuel recycling facilities, and radioisotope production activities; the risk that Oklo is pursuing an emerging market with no commercial project operating and regulatory uncertainties; risks related to acquisitions, divestitures, or joint ventures we may engage in; the need for financing to construct plants, which remain subject to market, financial, political, and legal conditions; risks related to an inability to raise additional capital to support our business and sustain our growth on favorable terms; the effects of competition; risks related to accessing high-assay low-enriched uranium, plutonium, and other fuels (including recycled fuels) at acceptable costs and under acceptable timelines; risks related to our supply chain; risks related to power purchase agreements; risks related to human capital; risks related to our intellectual property; risks related to cybersecurity and data privacy; changes in applicable laws or regulations, including tariffs; the outcome of any government and regulatory proceedings and investigations and inquiries; and the other factors set forth in our documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties of the other documents filed by Oklo from time to time with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on Oklo. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Oklo will be those that Oklo has anticipated. Oklo undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation, except as may be required by law.
For Centrus Energy Corp., particular factors that involve uncertainty and 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: the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical conflicts; restrictions on imports and exports, including those imposed under the Russian Suspension Agreement, and related international trade legislation; our government contracts, including related to changes to the U.S. government's appropriated funding levels for HALEU and the government's inability to satisfy its obligations, our lease to our facility in Piketon, Ohio, and our receipt of additional task orders under the HALEU Production Contract, LEU Production Contract and HALEU Deconversion Contract and, if awarded, the nature, timing and amount thereof; whether or when government demand for HALEU or LEU for government or commercial uses will materialize and at what level; the impact and potential extended duration of a supply/demand imbalance in the market for LEU; significant competition from major LEU producers, including foreign competitors, who may be less cost sensitive then we are; limitations on our ability to compete in foreign markets; pricing trends and demand in the uranium and enrichment markets, especially in light of the potential of limited supply and our dependence on others for deliveries of LEU; and our ability to successfully implement our planned expansion projects in Piketon, Ohio and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
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 most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, under Part II, Item 1A – "Risk Factors" in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in our other 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.
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Centrus:
Media -- Dan Leistikow LeistikowD@centrusenergy.com
Investors -- Neal Nagarajan NagarajanNK@centrusenergy.com
Media Contact for Oklo:
Bonita Chester, Head of Communications and Media at media@oklo.com
Investor Contact:
Sam Doane, Senior Director of Investor Relations at investors@oklo.com
