Oak Ridge facility will locate on the historic K-25 uranium enrichment site
Laser Isotope Separation Technologies (LIS) company will expand in Roane County, according to a release by the company
“LIS Technologies will create 203 jobs and invest $1.38 billion in an Oak Ridge, Tennessee, facility on the formerly named Duct Island. This announcement marks the third-largest nuclear-related investment since the creation of TNECD’s Nuclear Energy Fund,” according to the release.
The $50 million fund was in Gov. Lee’s recommended 2023-2024 budget and approved by the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Oak Ridge facility, which will locate on the historic K-25 uranium enrichment site, is intended to become the first U.S.-origin commercial laser uranium enrichment plant in the world.
“Oak Ridge is fortunate to be home to a broad range of companies leading the nation’s nuclear renaissance. Whether developing and operating small modular reactors or producing nuclear fuel, these companies all come to Oak Ridge because they rely on the cutting-edge science and highly specialized manufacturing practices we have here. LIS Technologies brings a unique laser enrichment technology that is scalable, efficient and cost-effective for our city’s growing nuclear industry. I am proud of the work LIS Technologies is doing, and we are proud to welcome and support their expansion here in Oak Ridge,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch.
The facility will “support U.S. utilities, next-generation reactor developers and national defense requirements while helping to reestablish a resilient domestic nuclear fuel supply chain” while the project underscores Oak Ridge’s “historic and continuing role in America’s nuclear enterprise”
TN has come to the forefront of rebuilding domestic uranium enrichment capacity.
“Tennessee is leading the nation in advancing American energy independence, which is why innovative companies like LIS Technologies are choosing to do business here. By creating the Nuclear Energy Fund, we have uniquely positioned our state at the forefront of cutting-edge research and development, and I look forward to the opportunity this expansion will create for Tennesseans,” said Governor Bill Lee.
Photo provided.
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