French nuclear fuels group Orano has been awarded $900 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to help ‍build a uranium enrichment ‍facility in the United States, the company said on Tuesday.

The ⁠funding confirms U.S. government support for the project and will allow it to ​move ahead with filing a license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in ‍the first half of 2026, Orano said.

The French ⁠company had announced plans to build the facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 2024 but was awaiting government funding before ⁠moving ahead with ​what will ⁠be its first enrichment plant abroad, requiring total ‍investment of between $4 and $5 billion.

Trump signed an executive order last ‌year to reduce regulations and fast-track new licenses for nuclear reactors and power ⁠plants ​and reinvigorate uranium production ‍and enrichment in the country.

Commissioning of the Tennessee plant is ‍expected in 2031.