Two recently published letters from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) display a painfully large gap in the sense of urgency felt by America's two newest uranium enrichment projects.
✅ We’ve accepted for review General Matter’s application to build and operate a uranium enrichment facility in Kentucky, a step toward reducing reliance on foreign enrichment. Our review is underway to ensure it meets all requirements. https://t.co/TtHsodmwW3 https://t.co/0EDeeUrI21
— NRC (@NRCgov) October 29, 2026
On October 29, the NRC published its acceptance of General Matters' new license application for its uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky. In the same week, the NRC also published the long list of failures from Orano's Project IKE enrichment plant planned for Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The American company was begging to go faster and was told to be patient, while the French company was given an open field and decided to drop the ball.
"Best I can do is 18 months"
General Matter submitted their license request for a new uranium enrichment facility at the end of September. The company asked for an accelerated NRC review, which means they were looking for a license decision to be returned to them in 12 m
