General Matter plans new enrichment plant in Paducah

The lease covers the reuse of a 100-acre parcel of land at the site and provides General Matter with a minimum of 7,600 cylinders of existing uranium hexafluoride to supply fuel for future re-enrichment operations.

The proposed USD1.5 billion project will create about 140 high-paying, full-time jobs and generate an estimated USD71 million in recurring annual economic benefit for the Paducah region. Construction of the new plant is expected to begin in 2026, with uranium enrichment operations planned for 2034. General Matter said it will utilise "a novel, scalable, cost-competitive technology".

General Matter was one of four companies selected in October 2024 by the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide enrichment services to help establish a US supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). HALEU contains between 5% and 19.75% of fissile uranium-235 and will be required to meet the fuel needs of many of the advanced reactor designs that are currently being developed.

Uranium enrichment was carried out at Paducah from 1952 to 2013, with commercial enrichment conducted under lease from 1993 until 2013 when operations ceased and the gaseous diffusion facilities were returned to the DOE Office of Environmental Management. 

"Seventy-five years ago, the US Atomic Energy Commission selected Paducah to help lead the nation's original enrichment efforts," said General Matter CEO Scott Nolan. "We are proud to return to and reactivate this historic site to power a new era of American energy independence, and we thank our partners in Kentucky and at the DOE's Office of Environmental Management and the Office of Nuclear Energy for supporting us in this landmark investment in American nuclear infrastructure."

"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," said DOE Office of Environmental Management Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Roger Jarrell. "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 US innovation and jobs."

In November last year, Global Laser Enrichment acquired a parcel of land adjacent to the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant on which to build the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF). GLE is the exclusive global licensee of the SILEX laser-based uranium enrichment technology, which would be deployed commercially at PLEF. It aims to start operations at the plant by 2030.