Abstract

Orano, based in France with U.S. headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, is a global leader in the nuclear energy fuel cycle. The company is completing milestones on plans to build and operate by the early 2030s the Project IKE uranium enrichment facility on a 674-acre property in Oak Ridge. I will explain how gas centrifuge technology works for enriching uranium and talk about the production of and market differences between low-enriched uranium (LEU), LEU+, and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is needed for advanced reactors. I will also speak about Orano’s global capabilities, its current work in the United States, and the reasons why Orano’s Project IKE is critically important to increasing America’s energy security.

Biographical sketch

Damon Brewer, deputy engineering, procurement, and construction manager for Orano’s Project IKE, has a B.S. degree in chemistry, an M.B.A. degree in strategic management, and a Project Management Professional certificate from the Project Management Institute. He has more than 25 years of project management experience across multiple industries. He has spent more than 10 years in the nuclear industry in government and private sector work that includes work at several different locations.