USEC′s American Centrifuge RD&D Program Continues Progress

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) and its subsidiary American Centrifuge
Demonstration, LLC recently amended their cooperative agreement with the
Department of Energy (DOE) to provide for additional federal funds of
$45.7 million through February 23, 2013. This funding for the American
Centrifuge research, development and demonstration (RD&D) program
was made available pursuant to the six-month continuing appropriations
measure passed by Congress and signed by the President on September 28,
2012.

'USEC and our partners have made solid progress since June in
manufacturing AC100 centrifuge machines and preparing the American
Centrifuge Plant for the systems infrastructure needed for the
demonstration cascade,? said John K. Welch, USEC president and chief
executive officer.

'We continue to work very closely with DOE officials on the RD&D
program, and we appreciate the support of the Obama Administration and
the bi-partisan support of Congress that this additional funding
represents. As we work to obtain the remainder of the federal
cost-sharing funds that are essential to successfully complete the
objectives established for the RD&D program, we are pleased to be able
to report that the program is within budget and on schedule,? Welch said.

The amendment for additional funding comes as the RD&D program moves
into the next phase of construction for the 120-machine demonstration
cascade. During this phase, machine operations in the current lead
cascade at the American Centrifuge Plant facilities in Piketon, Ohio, is
being suspended for a planned electrical power outage. The several-month
outage will allow for the construction and installation of fully
redundant support infrastructure systems necessary to operate the
demonstration cascade.

Once the new support infrastructure systems are installed and tested,
AC100 centrifuge machines will be installed to complete the 120-machine
demonstration cascade, which will operate in a commercial plant
configuration. The demonstration cascade is expected to be the first of
96 identical cascades that will make up the commercial American
Centrifuge Plant.

During the scheduled outage at Piketon, centrifuge machine operations,
including reliability testing, will continue at USEC′s test facility in
Oak Ridge, Tenn. In addition, AC100 machines will continue to be
manufactured and assembled throughout the RD&D program.

Other Recent Program Achievements

The RD&D program has made steady progress since USEC and DOE signed the
cooperative agreement in June. Recent highlights include:

• 
  DOE has certified completion of Performance Indicator A, 10 machine
  years runtime with a safety enhancement; and USEC has submitted
  paperwork to DOE for certification of its completion of Performance
  Indicator B, demonstration of AC100 production capability by
  manufacturing, assembling and delivering 78 centrifuges.
  
• 
  More than 100 of the 120 centrifuges needed for the demonstration
  cascade have been assembled and centrifuge manufacturing continues.
  
• 
  All six service modules for the demonstration cascade have been welded
  into place and connected. The service module is a critical component
  of the process systems and provides the utilities to operate and
  connect the centrifuges with the cascade.
  
• 
  DOE has certified completion of two of the five program technical
  milestones. The remaining three are due at the end of 2013 in
  conjunction with the completion of the program.
  

The RD&D program employs 169 companies from 28 states to support
construction, manufacturing and operations activities. USEC and the
program′s prime contractors and suppliers have added 160 workers since
June, raising the project workforce to more than 1,000 workers.

Background: RD&D Program

The cooperative agreement provides funding for the cost-share RD&D
program for the American Centrifuge project to enhance the technical and
financial readiness of the centrifuge technology for commercialization.
The cooperative agreement provides for 80 percent DOE and 20 percent
USEC cost sharing for work performed during the period June 1, 2012,
through December 31, 2013, with a total estimated cost of $350 million.
DOE′s total contribution would be up to $280 million and USEC′s
contribution would be up to $70 million. DOE′s contribution is
incrementally funded. The cooperative agreement provided initial DOE
funding of $87.7 million, and the amendment increases the obligated DOE
funding to $133.4 million. USEC will provide cost sharing equal to 20
percent, or $33.3 million, for a total of $166.7 million in program
funding through February 23, 2013. USEC will continue to work with
Congress and DOE to fully fund the RD&D program through December 2013.

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; 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; limitations on our ability to provide any
required cost sharing under the RD&D program; our ability through the
RD&D program to demonstrate the technical and financial readiness of the
centrifuge technology for commercialization; the ultimate success of
efforts to obtain a DOE loan guarantee and other financing for the
American Centrifuge project and the timing and terms thereof; potential
changes in our anticipated ownership of or role in the American
Centrifuge project; 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; changes in U.S. government priorities and the
availability of government funding, including loan guarantees; changes
to, or termination of, our contracts with the U.S. government; 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