Company: LEU
Filing Date: 2025-02-07
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001065059-25-000006
Chunk: 10

Company: CENTRUS ENERGY CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-07
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 10
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 Centrus takes title to the natural uranium hexafluoride.

The following outlines the steps for converting natural uranium into LEU fuel, commonly known as the nuclear fuel cycle:

Mining and Milling. Natural, or unenriched, uranium is removed from the earth in the form of ore and then crushed and concentrated. 

Conversion. U3O8 is combined with fluorine gas to produce UF6, a solid at room temperature and a gas when heated. UF6 is shipped to an enrichment plant. 

Enrichment. UF6 is enriched in a process that increases the concentration of the U235 isotope in the UF6 from its natural state of 0.711% up to 5%, or LEU, which is usable as a fuel for current light water commercial nuclear power reactors. Future commercial reactor designs may use uranium enriched up to 20% U235, or HALEU.

Fuel Fabrication. LEU is then converted to uranium oxide and formed into small ceramic pellets by fabricators. The pellets are loaded into metal tubes that form fuel assemblies, which are shipped to nuclear power plants. As the advanced reactor market develops, HALEU may be converted to uranium oxide, metal, chloride or fluoride salts, or other forms and loaded into a variety of fuel assembly types optimized for the specific reactor design.

Nuclear Power Plant. The fuel assemblies are loaded into nuclear reactors to create energy from a controlled chain reaction. Nuclear power plants generate approximately 18% of U.S. electricity and 9% of the world’s electricity.

Used Fuel Storage. After the nuclear fuel has been in a reactor for several years its efficiency is reduced and the assembly is removed from the reactor’s core. The used fuel is warm and radioactive and is kept in a deep pool of water for several years. Many utilities have elected to then move the used fuel into steel or concrete and steel casks for interim storage.

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LEU Backlog

Our backlog in the LEU segment extends to 2040. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our backlog is approximately $2.8 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively. The backlog is the estimated aggregate dollar amount of revenue for future SWU and uranium deliveries primarily under medium and long-term contracts with fixed commitments. Of the $2.8 billion, approximately $2.0 billion represents contingent LEU sales commitments, with $0.8 billion of the total under definitive agreements and $1.2 billion of the total subject to