Centrus Energy (NYSE: LEU) has signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy for a $900 million task order to support large-scale production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), the company announced July 1. The total contract value, including all options, reaches $1.07 billion.

The fixed-price HALEU enrichment contract calls for Centrus to deploy commercial-scale HALEU production capacity at its American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. The contract also includes options, at the Department's discretion, for up to $170 million in HALEU purchases for government missions.

Centrus separately signed a three-month, $15 million extension of its prior demonstration contract to cover HALEU storage during the transition period. The company completed production of 900 kilograms of HALEU UF6 under the existing demonstration contract in mid-June, two weeks ahead of schedule, bringing cumulative production to more than 1,900 kilograms over the life of that contract.

The company said it intends to privately operate the existing HALEU cascade on a commercial basis while large-scale expansion is underway. The first new capacity from the broader expansion is expected to come online by 2029. Centrus is working with the Department on a long-term lease extension for the Piketon facility to enable the transition.

The initial build-out will include 12 metric tons of annual HALEU production capacity, along with capacity to address Centrus' existing Low-Enriched Uranium backlog of $2.4 billion. The expansion is also expected to include 1,000 construction jobs and 300 new operating jobs in Ohio, 430 jobs at a centrifuge manufacturing plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and retention of 150 existing Piketon positions.

"Today's announcement marks another milestone in our expansion, as we pivot from a technology demonstration contract to the new, larger contract aimed at commercial scale production," said Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler.