Energy Department Turns Liabilities Into Assets — Unleashing a New Nuclear Renaissance

PADUCAH, Ky. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the signing of a lease with General Matter for the reuse of a 100-acre parcel of federal land at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant for a new private-sector domestic uranium enrichment facility that is ushering in a new nuclear renaissance for the nation.

“Leveraging the resources of the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, including its skilled nuclear workforce and existing infrastructure, is unlocking private funding and fast-tracking commercial licensing activities,” DOE Office of Environmental Management Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Roger Jarrell said. “The administration’s commitment to reducing barriers for American energy development is enabling the Office of Environmental Management to transform liabilities into opportunities, unleashing American energy, supporting national security and enabling U.S. innovation and jobs.”

General Matter is an important component to jumpstart fuel-line development and rebuild America’s nuclear fuel production base. General Matter is one of four companies DOE selected in October 2024 to provide enrichment services for the establishment of a U.S. supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium. Building domestic supply chains is critical to the reshoring and domestic expansion of energy for advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence data centers.

The lease provides General Matter with a minimum of 7,600 cylinders of existing uranium hexafluoride to supply fuel for future reenrichment operations. Reprocessing of uranium hexafluoride saves the American taxpayer about $800 million in avoided disposal costs. And General Matter benefits from a consistent supply of U.S.-origin uranium hexafluoride feed suitable for reenrichment.

General Matter’s construction is expected to begin in 2026 with uranium enrichment operations planned to begin by the end of the decade. This privately funded nuclear fuel enrichment is critical to national security reactors, commercial power reactors and research reactors.