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USEC began evaluating centrifuge technology.
USEC commenced development work on centrifuge design and signed a DOE-approved Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with UT-Battelle for cooperative work with Oak Ridge National Lab.
June: USEC signed a comprehensive agreement with DOE that provides a strong, cooperative foundation for deploying American Centrifuge technology in the United States.
September: The USEC-UT-Battelle CRADA was expanded and extended for an additional five years.
December: USEC announced that it would site its American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility at its Portsmouth plant in Piketon, Ohio.
February: USEC announced that it had begun testing key centrifuge components at facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
January: USEC announced that its commercial American Centrifuge Plant would also be sited in Piketon, Ohio.
February: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a license that authorizes USEC to construct and operate its American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility.
June: USEC selected Fluor Enterprises, a subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant.
August: USEC submitted to the NRC its license application for the American Centrifuge Plant. The NRC accepted the application for detailed review that October.
October: USEC announced agreements with the Boeing Company and Honeywell International to support the manufacture of centrifuge machines and components for USEC’s American Centrifuge program.
January: USEC began testing a full-size centrifuge machine at its K-1600 facility in Oak Ridge.
April: The Company announced that USEC and its contractors have begun manufacturing centrifuge machine components in Oak Ridge for use in the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility.
April: The NRC issued the final Environmental Impact Statement for the American Centrifuge Plant. This document can be downloaded from the NRC's website.
August: The NRC assumed regulatory oversight of the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility from DOE, allowing USEC to begin operating centrifuge machines with uranium hexafluoride in the Demonstration Facility, as authorized under a license issued by the NRC to the Company in 2004.
September: The NRC issued the final Safety Evaluation Report for the American Centrifuge Plant. This document can be downloaded from the NRC's website. The SER found that the commercial plant would create no significant adverse safety impacts during its construction or operation. It also evaluated the facility’s administrative and management programs to ensure the safe design and operation of the plant.
December: USEC signed agreements with DOE for the long-term use of facilities and for the gas centrifuge technology license for the American Centrifuge Plant. A copy of the lease agreement can be downloaded from DOE's website.
April: The NRC issued a construction and operating license for the American Centrifuge Plant. The license, which is good for 30 years, includes authorization to enrich uranium up to an assay level of 10 percent U235.
May: USEC and Fluor began construction on the commercial plant infrastructure for the American Centrifuge Plant.
June: USEC selected Babcock & Wilcox to perform manufacturing work in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for USEC’s American Centrifuge Program. B&W will manufacture components for centrifuge machines to be used in USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio.
August: USEC began the Lead Cascade testing program at the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility to test centrifuge machines in a closed-loop cascade configuration under various operating conditions.
USEC also entered into a three-way manufacturing supply agreement with Hexcel Corporation and with Alliant Techsystems (ATK) for carbon fiber for rotor tubes to be used in the American Centrifuge Plant. Hexcel will produce carbon fiber at its facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah, and deliver it to ATK. This fiber will be used by ATK to manufacture composite rotor tubes at its facilities in Rocket Center, West Virginia.
Later in the month, USEC awarded a contract to Major Tool & Machine Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana, to manufacture steel casings for centrifuge machines that will be used in the American Centrifuge Plant.
September: USEC raised net proceeds of approximately $775 million through the concurrent issuance of 23 million shares of common stock and $575 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible notes.
Separately, USEC and UT-Battelle signed an extension to the USEC-funded CRADA that will continue USEC’s ability to utilize ORNL employees and resources for developing USEC’s centrifuge technology through 2012.
October: USEC awarded a contract to Kerotest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for manufacturing the process gas valves.
November: USEC announced that the Lead Cascade test program of the American Centrifuge technology is producing results that achieve USEC’s objectives. Data gathered from groups of Lead Cascade prototype machines operating together in a closed-loop cascade configuration were consistent with the predictions of USEC’s analytical models regarding cascade and machine performance, and the product assays generated.
February: USEC awarded an initial contract to Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. of Huntsville, Ala, for the fabrication and assembly of the first 36 service modules.
March: USEC purchased the former Boeing site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and renamed it the American Centrifuge Technology and Manufacturing Center. The site features 440,000 square feet of buildings, including a 200,000 square-foot building with a high bay structure specifically built in the 1980s by Boeing for manufacturing, balancing and testing centrifuge machines. Since 2007, USEC has made significant building improvements such as upgrading electrical systems and installing foundations for new production machining equipment, robotics, computer controls and testing systems to support the manufacturing ramp-up in centrifuge parts production.
On March 31, USEC finalized the initial design for the AC100 machine and released 75 percent of the drawings to USEC’s strategic suppliers to begin manufacturing components. Additional component validation testing will be completed and the remaining drawings released to the strategic suppliers by June 30.
May: USEC awarded a contract to Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. of Huntsville, Ala., to fabricate and assemble an additional 540 gas centrifuge service modules for USEC’s American Centrifuge uranium enrichment program.
June: DOE invited nuclear energy projects to apply for its loan guarantee program. The omnibus fiscal year 2008 appropriations act authorized DOE to issue $38.5 billion worth of loan guarantees, with $2 billion for advanced “front-end” nuclear fuel cycle facilities such as the American Centrifuge Plant.
July: USEC submitted part I of its application to DOE for $2 billion from the loan guarantee program. In supporting its application, USEC noted the project represents the early commercial use of a new or significantly improved technology and will significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
August: USEC completed its application to DOE for $2 billion from the loan guarantee program.
September: USEC awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and construction management services contract to Fluor Corporation to complete construction of the American Centrifuge Plant.
February: USEC announced it would moderate the growth in spending on the American Centrifuge Plant until it gained more clarity on a loan guarantee decision.
March: USEC announced that it had commitments valued at $3.3 billion from 10 customers to buy more than half of the initial, planned output of the American Centrifuge Plant.
USEC completed a second design release for the AC100 series centrifuge machine.
May: USEC and Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group, Inc. announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture that will provide integrated manufacturing and assembly of AC100 centrifuge machines for USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant. The joint venture will also provide spare parts and other maintenance support services for centrifuge machines at the American Centrifuge Plant under a long-term service agreement.
August: DOE and USEC announced an agreement to defer a decision on USEC's loan guarantee application. As a result, USEC initiated steps to demobilize the American Centrifuge project until greater certainty regarding financing to finish the project could be obtained. Plant construction work was suspended and manufacturing was curtailed.
March: USEC began operations of a cascade of approximately two dozen production-ready AC100 centrifuge machines in cascade configuration simulating commercial plant conditions and assay levels.
USEC also reached an agreement with DOE that provides $45 million in funding to USEC to fund on-going American Centrifuge technology demonstration and manufacturing activities, which USEC will match on a 50-50 cost-share basis. The funding supports increased operational run-time of the Lead Cascade as well as production of additional machines by USEC’s manufacturers and rotor process improvement activities in preparation for full, high-rate production.
May: Toshiba Corporation and Babcock & Wilcox sign a definitive agreement to make a $200 million investment in USEC.
July: USEC submits a comprehensive update to its DOE Loan Guarantee application for a $2 billion guarantee and announces a go-forward cost of $2.8 billion to complete the American Centrifuge Plant from the point of closing on a DOE loan guarantee.