Framatome is one of a handful of companies that will receive federal funding to build out fuel production for the next generation of nuclear power reactors, and that money is coming directly to its Richland plant. 

Roughly $94 million was awarded to eight companies as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Generation III+ SMR Pathway to Deployment Program. The program is aimed at supporting near-term deployment of small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. 

“Advanced light-water SMRs will give our nation the reliable, round-the-clock power we need to fuel the president’s manufacturing boom, support data centers and AI growth, and reinforce a stronger, more secure electric grid,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement. “These awards ensure we can deploy these reactors as soon as possible.” 

Framatome’s $8.8 million award is specifically for its Richland facility. It will be used to increase the number of ceramic pellet production lines, adding about 200 metric tons of uranium of annual capacity.   

The funding awards were part of a congressional appropriation passed in 2024. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, who helped author and negotiate that bill, lauded a portion of that funding coming to the Mid-Columbia. 

“This funding is great news for Richland – it will help create jobs and grow the local economy across the Tri-Cities,” Murray said in a statement. “The Tri-Cities has long been a leader in nuclear energy supply chains, and I am proud to make sure that continues into the future, including by supporting funding just like this. 

Framatome, which is based in France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. 

The funding award is only the latest sign of Framtome’s Richland facility’s growing importance in the nation’s new nuclear buildout. 

The plant recently secured licensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expand its advanced fuel capabilities, including uranium oxide pellets with higher enrichment levels. The NRC also recently approved an application and license amendment related to working with and handling uranium with higher enrichment levels at the facility. 

Framatome has shored up a lot of potential clients, such as a joint venture with Standard Nuclear for its TRISO fuel, for when it can begin manufacturing fuel assemblies with higher enriched fuel in Richland.   

In March, Framatome and NuScale Power Corp., based in Corvallis, Oregon, expanded their existing partnership, including putting the Richland facility on notice to fabricate fuel for NuScale’s small modular nuclear reactor fuel technology in the next five years.

The Richland facility has spent millions of dollars on facility upgrades and recently broke ground on a $900,000 warehouse that will further expand on-site storage. That project is expected to be completed in August. 

The Richland plant employs about 580 people and produces uranium dioxide powder, pellets, fuel rods and fuel assemblies for commercial nuclear power plants worldwide.  

Running 24 hours a day, it produces 10 different types of fuel and a variety of arrays to fit different nuclear reactors, making the facility “reactor agnostic.” 

Five percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. comes from fuel manufactured in Richland and company officials have said their production schedule is already booked several years out.