TerraPower announces uranium for Kemmerer nuclear power plant will come from South Africa
The uranium that will be used to power a coming nuclear power plant near Kemmerer will be coming from South Africa — receiving praise from Gov. Mark Gordon.
TerraPower, the Bill Gates-founded company behind the nuclear project, announced Wednesday it signed a deal with ASP Isotopes for the construction of a uranium enrichment facility in South Africa to fuel the Kemmerer plant.
TerraPower broke ground on the project in June and once operational the plant will become the first of its kind and employ roughly 250 people.
The plant is set to replace nearby coal-fired Naughton Power Plant and will use a novel Natrium reactor — which uses sodium to cool the reactor instead of some type of water like most reactors.
The uranium used will also differ from traditional plants by using high-assay low-enriched uranium — often shortened to HALEU — to generate power.
The HALEU is more potent than traditional uranium and the liquid sodium metal allows for a boosting or slowing of energy output.
The changes make the design more sustainable and safe while allowing for unique heat storage able to boost output and better match demand, according to TerraPower.
"This agreement is another example of our commitment and investments to commercialize HALEU production domestically and in allied countries," TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a press release. "We are optimistic about ASP Isotopes enrichment capabilities and planned timeline to help ensure advanced nuclear energy can achieve its necessary role in meeting climate energy targets."
TerraPower has made an effort to spur domestic production capabilities of Uranium in the United States.
For example, the enriched uranium from South Africa will then make its way to Wilmington, North Carolina, where it will be made into HALEU.
The construction of the Kemmerer plant is expected to take five years and employ roughly 1,600 workers at the project's peak.
Gordon praised TerraPower's announcement and added that using non-Russian HALEU is a "positive strategy for Wyoming and the nation."
"Recognizing domestic production of uranium is not yet at capacity, TerraPower's procurement of non-Russian uranium is a welcome and smart move that will benefit the plant in Kemmerer, our state, and our country," he added.
Only Russia and China have the infrastructure to produce HALEU at a commercial scale and the only commercial supply of HALEU comes from a Russian company, according to the World Nuclear Association.
David Velazquez is a reporter at the Casper Star-Tribune and can be reached at 307-301-0506 or at
State Government Reporter
