What would be the largest economic development project in Western Kentucky history is now one step closer to reality.
General Matter, an American uranium enrichment company, recently signed a lease with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Supporting Nuclear Energy
The signing of the lease paves the way for future project milestones, including permitting, licensing and contractual terms with the DOE.
Plans for the facility include production of fuel needed for the next generation of nuclear energy, which are vital for future growth of manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other key industries.
General Matter collaborated with state and local leaders and the DOE for the plan to build the facility at the Paducah site, which previously served as the first location in the United States for industrialized enrichment technology.
“Seventy-five years ago, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission selected Paducah to help lead the nation’s original enrichment efforts,” said General Matter CEO Scott Nolan. “We are proud to return to and reactivate this historic site to power a new era of American energy independence, and we thank our partners in Kentucky and at the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and the Office of Nuclear Energy for supporting us in this landmark investment in American nuclear infrastructure.”
Aiming for 2030
General Matter is a privately funded American company focused on development of uranium enrichment technology to reshore domestic nuclear fuel capacity and power American energy production.
The company’s team includes experts and engineers with backgrounds in nuclear, tech and government.
According to their website, nuclear fuel production relies on five steps, taking uranium ore to finished fuel.
General Matter states that American fuel production has a commercial bottleneck in the middle step, enrichment. This is what the company aims to solve.
“I want to congratulate the team at General Matter on this major step toward what will be the largest economic investment ever for Western Kentucky,” Gov. Beshear said. “This lease reflects Kentucky’s leadership in nuclear energy and our strong partnerships at the federal and local levels, as well as in the private sector. I am looking forward to being back in Paducah soon to celebrate the next key milestone for this exciting and historic project.”
The company was selected by the DOE as an awardee in both its low enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) enrichment acquisition programs.
General Matter plans to enrich uranium at the Paducah site by 2030.
For more information on General Matter visit generalmatter.com.
