BETHESDA, Md. - American Centrifuge, a project that will bring hundreds of jobs to southern Ohio, has made substantial progress in the year since USEC announced the siting of its next-generation technology.

“Reaching important milestones in the American Centrifuge program demonstrates how much closer we are to making this remarkable technology a reality,” said Ron Green, senior vice president at USEC. “Over the past year, our team has met several milestones ahead of schedule. It’s been a year of solid accomplishments.”

Since January 12, 2004, when Piketon was selected, key events have included:

• In February, USEC received a license from the NRC to construct and operate the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility.
• In June, USEC selected Fluor Enterprises to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the American Centrifuge Plant.
• In August, USEC filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to provide a construction and operating license for the commercial plant. The submission came seven months ahead of schedule.
• In September, USEC completed the cleanup of the area in which the Demonstration Facility will operate.
• In September, demonstration facility construction began. USEC intends to begin operation of the demonstration facility in late 2005.
• In October, the NRC announced that USEC’s license application for the plant was complete and acceptable for detailed review.
• Also in October, USEC signed agreements with Boeing Company and Honeywell International to support the manufacture of American Centrifuge uranium enrichment machines for the program.

Demonstration and deployment of the American Centrifuge is expected to cost up to $1.5 billion and reach an initial annual production level of 3.5 million SWU by 2010. It is anticipated that the commercial facility will create hundreds of well-paying, skilled jobs once it is operational by the end of this decade.

In late 2005, USEC expects to begin operating the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility, a plant prototype also in Piketon, which will provide important cost, schedule and performance data before USEC begins construction of the commercial plant.

USEC currently has more than 185 employees working on the American Centrifuge Program in Piketon, Bethesda and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

“USEC is committed to creating employment opportunities in southern Ohio through the operation of the demonstration facility and commercial plant,” said Ted Manes, director of the American Centrifuge Plant.

“We hope to hire as many employees as possible from the local community,” Manes said. “We have also made it a priority to provide opportunities for local businesses to participate in the American Centrifuge program through our contracting and subcontracting activities.” USEC’s contracts and subcontracts support many southern Ohio businesses and employ many area residents. To date, contracts worth over $6.4 million have been awarded to regional businesses to provide support for the American Centrifuge program.

USEC’s American Centrifuge is anticipated to be the world’s most efficient uranium enrichment technology. It is based on proven centrifuge technology originally developed by DOE, but with expected improvements in efficiency through the use of modern materials, control systems and manufacturing processes.

This news release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involves risks and uncertainty, including certain assumptions regarding the future performance of USEC. Actual results and trends may differ materially depending upon a variety of factors, which are described in USEC’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These SEC filings are available on USEC’s website, www.usec.com

USEC Inc., a global energy company, is the world’s leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

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