An American nuclear fuel supplier, Centrus Energy, has completed its Oak Ridge plant and is shipping the first new centrifuge to its Ohio facility as part of the company’s expansion of its uranium enrichment capacity.The centrifuges produced in Tennessee will now be grouped into ‘cascades’ and integrated into the uranium enrichment facility in Ohio, the company announced Thursday. The energy firm said in a statement that the new capacity is expected to ‘come online’ in 2029.A cascade is a group of centrifuges connected together to enrich uranium, as multiple centrifuges are needed to achieve the required enrichment level. The Ohio facility has an existing cascade of these centrifuges, which includes components built nearly seven years ago.Uranium for next-gen reactorsAt the expanded facility, Centrus aims to produce Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) on a large scale “for the existing reactor fleet for baseload electricity, High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) for next-generation reactors, and enrichment for national security needs.”HALEU has enriched uranium of 5-20 percent, while LEU has generally 3-5 percent for conventional reactors.Centrus described the centrifuge shipment as a “milestone” which was achieved ahead of its previously announced target.It also said that it contracted a network of domestic suppliers to establish a supply chain capable of meeting both commercial and national security demand.To secure the supply chain, the company completed the acquisition of Westerman Holdings earlier in October.Westerman Holdings is a key supplier of centrifuge casings and other major components.”Completing the first new centrifuge for our expansion and standing up a one-of-a-kind supply chain are significant moments for our team and this country,” Centrus president and Chief Executive Officer Amir Vexler said.”Building this unique manufacturing capability at scale takes specialized expertise, time, precision and sustained commitment. These milestones demonstrate our ability to translate our investment into tangible progress and position us to re-establish this country’s rightful position in the global enrichment market,” he added.Boost to domestic manufacturingIn December 2025, the nuclear supplier restarted centrifuge manufacturing activities in Oak Ridge to expand enrichment capacity in Ohio.The following month, in January 2026, the energy corporation announced a $560 million investment to expand and modernize the centrifuge facility in Oak Ridge.A centrifuge plays a crucial role in a uranium enrichment plant. It uses uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) and rotates it at high speeds to increase the concentration of uranium-235 (U-235) relative to uranium-238 (U-238), as natural uranium contains approximately 0.7 percent U-235. The U-235 isotope is used to sustain a nuclear chain reaction.Currently, Centrus’s existing centrifuge cascade in Ohio has components manufactured in 2019, with some also being older than that. And it has been producing High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) since late 2023.Tennessee Governor Bill Lee hailed the shipment, calling it “an important milestone in strengthening America’s nuclear fuel supply chain”, while Senator Bill Hagerty said, “We’re turning decades of investment and expertise into American manufacturing, American energy, and American opportunity.” According to Centrus, the Oak Ridge facility is the only advanced centrifuge manufacturing plant in the US with a proven and de-risked technology, while “all other centrifuge technologies in commercial operation today are manufactured exclusively overseas.”