USEC Inc. ( NYSE :USU) was informed today by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) that it is prepared to extend the American Centrifuge cooperative research, development and demonstration (RD&D) program for three months beyond January 15, 2014, subject to Congressional appropriations.

DOE and USEC will share costs of the program on an 80-percent/20-percent basis for a total funding level of approximately $10 million per month.

USEC will continue working closely with stakeholders, including the DOE and Congress, to achieve the three month extension and identify the best path forward for the technology.

The American Centrifuge is the only uranium enrichment process employing U.S. domestic technology that can be used for national security purposes. It is also an important potential contributor to the country’s energy security, non-proliferation policy goals, and nuclear high-tech manufacturing industry. Earlier this month it achieved three important milestones as part of the RD&D program that was originally proposed by DOE in 2011. A full production-scale cascade of 120 centrifuge machines achieved 20 machine-years of operations at commercial plant specifications.

USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.