Orano announced on May 21, 2026 that the NRC accepted its Project IKE licence application for an accelerated 12-month review — the first application for a major new US uranium enrichment facility. Project IKE is a multibillion-dollar (approximately $5 billion capital cost) gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant near Oak Ridge, Tennessee capable of producing approximately 7.4 million separative work units (SWU) per year — sufficient output to replace all Russian-origin enriched uranium currently used in the US reactor fleet. The NRC formal review began May 21, 2026 with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2027. The project is supported by a $900 million DOE award to expand domestic low-enriched uranium capacity. Orano's environmental report was submitted January 2026 and full technical application in March 2026. Project IKE uses gas centrifuge enrichment technology, the same technology used at Urenco's Eunice, New Mexico facility, which consumes far less electricity than older gaseous diffusion technology. It is intended to serve as the primary commercial-scale domestic enrichment hub in the United States.