Shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU) rose more than 1% in the premarket session on Thursday after the company confirmed a task order from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) worth $900 million. The order will entail establishing a large-scale production capacity for High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), a specialized, highly concentrated nuclear fuel.
The company said that the deal also includes a three-month extension for HALEU storage worth $15 million.
Centrus Transitions From Demonstration To Commercialization
The nuclear fuel and services company said that it has completed all HALEU production required under its DOE demonstration contract, producing more than 1,900 kilograms of HALEU since the program began in 2019, including the final 900 kilograms delivered ahead of schedule in June.
Centrus Energy is now shifting from demonstration to commercialization under a newer enrichment contract worth up to $1.07 billion, which includes options for up to $170 million in DOE HALEU purchases, it said.
"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," Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler said in a statement.
"The government's investment from this contract will be matched several times over with billions of dollars in capital, including other non-dilutive, non-debt funding as well as customer contracts to restore America's ability to enrich uranium at a large scale," he added.
LEU Stock: Retail Stance
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around LEU stock improved from ‘extremely bearish’ to ‘bearish' territory over 24 hours, with message volume up 71% per platform data.
One bullish user said, “To the moon bro'.”
is down nearly 39% this year.