# Project IKE by Orano

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/energy/project-ike
Frontier: [Energy](https://technooptimist.io/energy.md) · Field: Nuclear fuel · Company: [Orano](https://technooptimist.io/companies/orano.md)
Stage: Proto (2 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-05-21, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Build a second large commercial enrichment plant in the US so American reactors stop depending on Russian enriched uranium, banned from 2028, with production starting in the early 2030s.
Status: NRC accepted its licence application in May 2026 for a 12-month review; production targeted 2031.
Next milestone: NRC licensing decision, target Apr 2027

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Oak Ridge, Tennessee named as the preferred site | Sep 2024 |   |
| Done | DOE selects Orano for up to $900M in support | 5 Jan 2026 |   |
| Done | Environmental report filed with the NRC | Jan 2026 |   |
| Done | Licence application completed (technical part) | 27 Mar 2026 |   |
| Done | NRC accepts the application for an accelerated review | 21 May 2026 |   |
| Current | NRC licensing decision | Apr 2027 |   |
| Planned | LEU production begins | 2031 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **Apr 2027**: NRC licensing decision
- **1 Jan 2028**: US waivers for Russian enriched uranium end
- **2031**: LEU production begins

## Most important updates

- **21 May 2026**: NRC accepts Orano's Project IKE application and aims to decide by April 2027. The NRC accepted Orano Enrichment USA's licence application for Project IKE and committed to an accelerated review, aiming to finish in April 2027. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/nrc-accepts-orano-s-project-ike-application-and-aims-to-decide-by-april-c3b3776e.md) · [original source](https://fissilematerials.org/blog/2026/05/nrc_accepted_oranos_licen.html))
- **27 Mar 2026**: Orano completes its NRC licence application for the Project IKE enrichment plant. Orano filed the technical part of its licence application for Project IKE, completing the package it began with an environmental report in January. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/orano-completes-its-nrc-licence-application-for-the-project-ike-00132412.md) · [original source](https://www.orano.group/usa/en/our-news/news-releases/2026/orano-finishes-scheduled-license-submission-for-project-ike-uranium-enrichment-facility-to-NRC))
- **5 Jan 2026**: DOE selects Orano for up to $900 million toward Project IKE, a $5 billion US enrichment plant. The US Department of Energy picked Orano for up to $900 million to build low-enriched uranium capacity on US soil, supporting its planned ~$5 billion Project IKE plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/doe-selects-orano-for-up-to-900-million-toward-project-ike-a-5-billion-b8fff48b.md) · [original source](https://www.orano.group/en/news/news-group/2026/january/orano-obtains-900-million-dollars-of-funding-from-the-us-department-of-energy-to-develop-new-uranium-enrichment-capacity-on-us-soil))

## Current obstacles

- **Paying for it**: About $5 billion of capital, of which DOE covers up to $900M; Orano needs long utility contracts to justify the rest.
- **Arriving after the ban**: Russian waivers end in 2028, but IKE produces from 2031; the gap must be bridged by Urenco, Centrus and imports from Europe.

## Physics limits

- **Separating near-identical atoms**: UF6 molecules carrying U-235 are under 1% lighter than those carrying U-238, so each centrifuge enriches only a little; output grows with the number of machines, not with one clever trick.
- **Most of the feed is left over**: Natural uranium is only 0.7% U-235, so most of what enters a plant leaves as depleted tails; plants must be huge to make a modest amount of fuel.

## How it works

### Centrifuge: Spin the gas, skim the light part

Uranium hexafluoride spins in fast rotors; the slightly lighter U-235 collects near the axis and is drawn off as enriched product.

### Cascade: Thousands of small steps

Each machine enriches only a little, so many are linked in cascades to take natural uranium (0.7% U-235) up to reactor grade.

### LEU and LEU+: Fuel for today's reactors

IKE makes low-enriched uranium for the existing fleet, licensed up to 10% U-235 for longer-running fuel.

### Proven design: A copy of Georges Besse II

The NRC is moving faster partly because the design resembles Eagle Rock, an Areva plant it licensed before the project was dropped in 2011.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Project IKE | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Licensed capacity | 7.4 million SWU/year | reported |
| Maximum enrichment | 10% U-235 | reported |
| Project cost | About $5 billion | reported |
| DOE support | Up to $900 million | reported |
| Construction workforce | Over 1,000 | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Orano

French nuclear fuel cycle group, 90% owned by the French state, formed from the restructuring of Areva and renamed Orano in 2018. It mines, converts and enriches uranium and recycles spent fuel; it enriches at the Georges Besse II plant in Tricastin.

- One of the two big Western enrichers; has supplied enriched uranium to US reactors from France for over 40 years.
- Project IKE: a ~$5 billion, 7.4 million SWU enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, targeting production in 2031.
- Also extending Georges Besse II in France by 30%. Revenue €5.87 billion in 2024.

- Headquarters: FR
- Status: government
- Staff: ~17,500
- Website: https://www.orano.group
- People: Nicolas Maes (Chief Executive Officer); Jean-Luc Palayer (CEO, Orano USA)
- Partners, customers, investors: Urenco (partner); US Department of Energy (customer); North America's Building Trades Unions (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/orano.md

## Related programs

Everything in Energy: https://technooptimist.io/energy.md

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