General Matter to build Kentucky enrichment plant under DOE lease

The lease provides General Matter with a minimum of 7,600 cylinders of existing depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF₆) to supply fuel for future reenrichment operations. General Matter, which is backed by Peter Theil’s Founders Fund venture capital firm, indicated that the enrichment plant will be the anchor for more than $1 billion in potential investment for the area.

Construction on the new facility is expected to begin in 2026 with uranium enrichment operations planned for 2034.

Enrichment contracts: Along with Centrus Energy, Orano Federal Services, and Urenco USA, General Matter is one of four companies that were awarded DOE contracts worth up to $2.7 billion in October 2024 to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium. In December 2024, the company also received one of six DOE contracts worth up to $3.4 billion to supply low-enriched uranium from new domestic enrichment sources.

According to the DOE, General Matter will benefit from a consistent supply of domestic DUF₆ feed suitable for reenrichment while saving U.S. taxpayers about $800 million in depleted uranium disposal costs.

According to General Matter, the plant will also offset a large percentage of enriched uranium from foreign suppliers, saving the U.S. approximately $500 million per year while employing 140 people in the Paducah area.

Quote: “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 Roger Jarrell, DOE-EM principal deputy assistant secretary. “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.”

Background: From 1952 to 2013, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant enriched uranium and was the last government-owned uranium enrichment facility operating in the United States. The plant produced LEU originally as feedstock for nuclear weapons materials and later for commercial nuclear power plants.

The DOE has been actively cleaning up the Paducah site since 1988 with the intention of making it available for reuse for industrial redevelopment.