Oklo and Centrus Plan Joint HALEU Deconversion Hub at Ohio Site

Oklo Inc. and Centrus Energy Corp. announced March 9 they are pursuing a joint venture to build a centralized HALEU deconversion hub at Centrus' Piketon site in Pike County, southern Ohio, co-located with Centrus' existing enrichment operations and sitting adjacent to Oklo's planned 1.2 GW power campus.

The core logic is straightforward: right now, every fuel fabrication facility that wants to handle HALEU has to stand up its own deconversion line. A shared hub at Piketon would eliminate that redundancy, cut shipping costs for high-assay low-enriched uranium across the industry, and let multiple fabricators tap into a single centralized service. The two companies also said they plan to explore joint coordination on regulatory and research activities, including engagement with U.S. federal agencies, though no specific agencies or timelines were named.

Oklo CEO and co-founder Jacob DeWitte framed the announcement as a fuel-cycle problem, not just a reactor problem. "Advanced nuclear energy development requires not only reactors but also reliable fuel-cycle capabilities that support those reactors," DeWitte said. "This framework supports deeper discussions with Centrus on potential pathways to expand deconversion capacity, strengthen domestic supply chains, and advance a more efficient fuel-cycle model that operates from the same location."

Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler pointed to the broader rebuild underway on the U.S. fuel-cycle side. "Centrus is laying the groundwork to rebuild the U.S. nuclear fuel-cycle capacity, including the services needed to support advanced reactor fuels," Vexler said. "We look forward to exploring options to co-locate and scale deconversion services to improve efficiency and support growing demand."

The Piketon location also fits into a larger regional play. The potential collaboration aligns with redevelopment efforts led by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, which is working to convert thousands of acres at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant into an advanced manufacturing and clean energy hub. Centrus' HALEU enrichment operations are already running at the site.

On the financial side, Centrus carries a $3.71 billion market cap and posted a 137% return over the past year, though shares were trading at $188.89 at the time of the announcement, down 22% year-to-date. Centrus holds more cash than debt and carries a current ratio of 5.59, which positions it to fund expansion without immediately needing outside capital.

What the March 9 announcement does not include: any ownership structure for the joint venture, equity split, binding agreement, construction timeline, planned deconversion throughput, or named federal agencies for the regulatory coordination work. This is an agreement to pursue discussions, and the gap between that and a shovel in the ground at Piketon is still wide open.