USEC and DOE Sign $350 Million Cooperative Agreement for American Centrifuge Research, Development and Demonstration Program

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have signed
agreements to move forward with a $350 million cooperative research,
development and demonstration (RD&D) program to confirm the technical
readiness of the American
Centrifuge, the next-generation U.S. uranium enrichment technology.

'Our agreements reflect the importance of this U.S. technology to our
national security and will validate the readiness of the American
Centrifuge technology for commercial deployment,? said John K. Welch,
USEC president and CEO. 'Over the last several months, we have been
preparing our demonstration facility for installation of a full-scale
commercial cascade with related plant infrastructure. With this RD&D
agreement in place, we will move rapidly to build additional AC100
machines and related support systems to complete the demonstration
cascade.

'The program will demonstrate the American Centrifuge technology as the
next generation of U.S. enrichment technology that is essential to meet
our nation′s future national security requirements. Upon completion by
the end of next year, this RD&D program will fully demonstrate that the
American Centrifuge technology is ready for commercial deployment. I
would like to thank members of Congress for their bipartisan support for
this project and DOE for its commitment to this vital technology,? Welch
said.

The cooperative agreement between USEC and DOE defines the scope,
funding and technical goals for the program. The total investment in the
program will be up to $350 million, with DOE providing 80 percent, or
$280 million, and USEC providing 20 percent, or $70 million, of the
total. The RD&D program will support building, installing, operating,
and testing commercial plant support systems and a 120-machine cascade
that would be incorporated in the full commercial plant in Piketon,
Ohio, which is planned to operate 96 identical cascades. The program
will enhance the technical and financial readiness of the centrifuge
technology for commercialization and support more than 1,000 direct jobs
during the RD&D program.

USEC and DOE will initially provide $110 million in cost-shared funding
for the program. This is intended to last through the end of November.
DOE′s portion of the funding will come from taking the disposal
obligation for a quantity of depleted uranium tails from USEC, releasing
$87.7 million in cash for use in the RD&D program that USEC had
previously committed as security for future tails disposition
obligations. USEC will continue to work with Congress and DOE to pursue
opportunities for funding the balance of the RD&D program.
Appropriations bills providing FY 2013 funding have been approved by the
House of Representatives and the Senate Appropriations Committee but
have not yet been finalized.

USEC recently formed American Centrifuge Demonstration, LLC (ACD) to
carry out the program and has agreed to put in place a governance
structure for ACD to provide enhanced program management and execution
for the performance of the RD&D program, subject to USEC′s requirements
under its license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This structure
is anticipated to include a board of managers of ACD that will not be
controlled by USEC.

As an added measure of protection for taxpayers, USEC has granted DOE an
irrevocable, non-exclusive royalty-free license in centrifuge
intellectual property for government purposes. USEC and DOE also signed
an agreement that grants DOE title to certain existing equipment used in
the RD&D program as well as all equipment, such as centrifuge machines,
produced or acquired as part of the RD&D program. USEC will lease the
equipment from DOE, and DOE will transfer title of the equipment back to
USEC if USEC proceeds with the deployment of the commercial plant.
Finally, DOE and USEC have signed an amendment to the 2002 agreement to
add milestones related to the successful completion of the RD&D program
and to extend the existing milestones under the 2002 agreement related
to the financing and construction of the American Centrifuge Plant.

Additional information can be found in the current report on Form 8-K
filed by USEC today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In
addition, USEC is currently evaluating the accounting treatment of these
transactions, which will be reflected in filings for the quarter ending
June 30, 2012.

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

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains 'forward-looking statements? within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ? that is,
statements related to future events. In this context, forward-looking
statements may address our expected future business and financial
performance, and often contain words such as 'expects?, 'anticipates?,
'intends?, 'plans?, 'believes?, 'will? and other words of similar
meaning. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that
are, to different degrees, uncertain. For USEC, particular risks and
uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to: risks related to the ongoing transition
of our business, including uncertainty regarding the transition of the
Paducah gaseous diffusion plant and uncertainty regarding continued
funding for the American Centrifuge project and the impact of decisions
we may make in the near term on our business and prospects; our ability
to satisfy the conditions to additional funding under the cooperative
agreement with DOE, including our ability to implement the governance
structure required under the RD&D program; uncertainty regarding the
timing, amount and availability of additional funding for the RD&D
program and the dependency of government funding on Congressional
appropriations; restrictions in our credit facility on our spending on
the American Centrifuge project and the potential for us to demobilize
the project; the impact of any conditions that are placed on us or on
the American Centrifuge project in connection with or as a condition to
the RD&D program or other funding, including a restructuring of our role
and investment in the project; limitations on our ability to provide any
required cost sharing under the RD&D program; the ultimate success of
efforts to obtain a DOE loan guarantee for the American Centrifuge
project, including the ability through the RD&D program or otherwise to
address the concerns raised by DOE with respect to the financial and
project execution depth of the project, and the timing and terms
thereof; the impact of actions we have taken or may take to reduce
spending on the American Centrifuge project, including the potential
loss of key suppliers and employees, and impacts to cost and schedule;
the impact of delays in the American Centrifuge project and uncertainty
regarding our ability to remobilize the project; the potential for DOE
to seek to exercise its remedies under the June 2002 DOE-USEC agreement;
risks related to the completion of the remaining two phases of the
three-phased strategic investment by Toshiba ?Corporation ('Toshiba?)
and ?Babcock & Wilcox Investment Company ('B&W?), including uncertainty
regarding the potential participation of Toshiba and B&W in the
governance structure required under the RD&D program, and the potential
for immediate termination of the securities purchase agreement governing
their investments; changes in U.S. government priorities and the
availability of government funding, including loan guarantees;
uncertainty regarding the continued capitalization of certain assets
related to the American Centrifuge Plant and the impact of a potential
impairment of these assets on our results of operations; uncertainty
regarding the financial impact of the agreements with DOE on our results
of operations; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are
available on our website www.usec.com.
We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except as
required by law.

USEC Inc.

Media: Paul Jacobson, 301-564-3399

Investors: Steven
Wingfield, 301-564-3354