Name of the Project
Project Ike.

Location
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, US.

Project Owner/s
Nuclear supplier of materials and services Orano USA.

Project Description
Project Ike relates to President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower and his historic Atoms for Peace speech to the UN about using atomic energy for peaceful means and the public good.

The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility.

The new facility will be a multistructure, commercial production site covering about 70 000 m². 

The output of an enrichment facility is measured in kilograms of “separative work units” (SWUs) – a calculation standardising many enrichment process variables into a comparable number. This facility will be designed for yearly full production capacity of several million SWUs.

Project Ike will be designed for uranium enrichment encompassing low-enriched uranium (LEU) of up to 6% and LEU+ of up to 8%, and could be enhanced to produce high-assay, low-enriched uranium for fuelling certain advanced reactors.

Potential Job Creation
The project will lead to the creation of more than 300 jobs.

Capital Expenditure
In January 2026, Orano was selected by the US Department of Energy (DoE) for $900-million in funding support toward an estimated $5-billion total project cost.

Planned Start/End Date
Start of LEU production is targeted for 2031.

Latest Developments
Orano has submitted the environmental report for Project Ike to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), marking a key early licensing milestone for the project. The environmental report sets out the project’s environmental-impact assessment work and covers areas such as land use, air and water, health and safety, and socioeconomics, enabling the project to move into the next stage of NRC review. 

Orano has said the project remains on track to submit the complete facility licence application later in 2026. 

Project Ike was announced in September 2024 with a preferred site on DoE-owned greenfield land near Oak Ridge. 

The NRC licensing process can take up to three years (potentially shorter with process efficiencies). 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
No information provided.

Contact Details for Project Information
Orano USA, tel +1 301 841 1600.