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The subsidiary of U.S. uranium enrichment company Centrus has contracted with engineering firm Fluor for the multibillion-dollar expansion of its uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio (Centrus).

What’s going on: American Centrifuge Operating LLC—the wholly owned daughter company of Bethesda, Maryland–based Centrus—has engaged Fluor “to serve as its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor as Centrus proceeds with its previously announced” Ohio facility buildout.

What it will entail: “Under the multiyear contract, Fluor will lead engineering and design of the expanded capacity in Ohio, manage the supply chain and procurement of key materials and services, oversee construction at the site and support the commissioning of the new capacity.”

About the undertaking: The Piketon project includes substantial production of Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) “to address [the] commercial LEU enrichment contingent backlog of $2.3 billion and growing demand from existing reactors.”

• Centrus will also build “12 metric tons of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) annual capacity for next-generation reactors.”

Related news: In January, Centrus announced that it had been selected by the Department of Energy for a $900 million task order to expand its enrichment and centrifuge manufacturing capabilities at Piketon and its facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

• The company said later last month that it would invest more than $560 million to turn its Oak Ridge centrifuge factory into a “high-rate manufacturing” site.

The NAM’s take: “Current and future energy demand requires a strong domestic nuclear fuel supply chain,” said NAM Senior Director of Energy and Resources Policy Mike Davin.

• “The expansion of Centrus’ Ohio enrichment facility—and the news of the company’s partnership with Fluor to make the project happen—is a win for manufacturing and the U.S. in general.”