51ÂŇÂ×

A major regional jobs announcement has 51ÂŇÂ× leaders, state officials and project stakeholders applauding progress at a key development site and looking for further success.

The recent news announced by Centrus Energy Corp. for a multi-billion-dollar expansion to its uranium enrichment facility in Pike County will create hundreds of additional jobs in southern Ohio. The Centrus facility is collocated at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS).

The Centrus expansion is emblematic of the progress to attract private development to the PORTS site. These efforts are enjoying success due to ongoing remediation and redevelopment efforts, many of which are underpinned by initiatives conducted by OHIO’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.

State officials joined Centrus Energy and regional development leaders to announce the company’s plans to expand its uranium enrichment operations.

“Centrus’ commitment to expand and upgrade its Piketon facility underscores Ohio’s importance in supporting our nation’s economic and national security,” Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement. “Uranium enrichment operations in Piketon have played a critical role in U.S. national defense since the earliest days of the Cold War, and Centrus’ facility provides the only technology available today capable of building out domestic enrichment at an industrial scale.”

Centrus has been a long-term private endeavor located at the Department of Energy’s 3,777-acre site, which has been the subject of a multi-year push to attract other developments to reignite the area’s economy.

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PORTSfuture Program

The Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) is designated by DOE as the official community reuse organization. SODI receives land and other site assets from DOE for use in economic development efforts. Since 2010, the Voinovich School’s , led by Director Stephanie Howe, has partnered with the entities through a federal grant augmented with other resources.

The PORTSfuture Program provides a range of technical assistance services to enhance data-driven approaches to support DOE cleanup and property transfer, expand SODI’s capacity, attract industry and private capital, plan for workforce readiness, and promote stakeholder engagement through various activities.

PORTSfuture partnered with SODI and national experts to create the redevelopment vision and strategy for a power generation and industrial complex to utilize the site assets to the fullest potential.

The program’s early efforts focused on community and stakeholder outreach to inform the redevelopment vision, generating data, and executing the strategy. Since 2020, the focus has been on “attracting and supporting private sector developers, establishing workforce readiness,” and property transfers from the federal government to SODI, which sells the land to private industry, according to Howe. The latter efforts have resulted in the transfer of about 275 acres over the last three years.

PORTSfuture’s recent work includes major workforce and supply chain analyses. In addition, the program has worked closely with labor groups to determine how to align workforce training and related activities to ensure a ready workforce is available to meet private industry’s needs.

The expansive effort to develop areas near the Centrus plant has entailed the input of 15 school employees each year spanning a dozen 51ÂŇÂ× academic departments, according to the director. Along the way, more than 150 graduate and undergraduate students benefitted by applied learning experiences.

“51ÂŇÂ×, SODI, and DOE’s coordinated work shows what can be accomplished when academia, regional stakeholders, organized labor, and industry come together to achieve a common goal,” said Howe, who also serves as the director of energy programs at the Voinovich School.

Along with , current industry partners and job creators at the site include: , focused on natural gas developments; nuclear waste processor ; energy battery storage firm ; modular reactor company Oklo Inc., and HEAL’s multi-use facility and operational center.

“The PORTSfuture Program utilizes the knowledge assets of OHIO to develop data-driven tools and approaches as we bring together diverse stakeholders - government, nonprofits, industry, and community entities - to collaboratively redevelop the PORTS site while ensuring continuous stakeholder engagement,” Howe explained.

“We employ this strategic approach for targeted industry recruitment, proactive workforce development, robust stakeholder communication, and to attract large-scale capital investment. The primary goal is to leverage the site and related assets to the highest job-creation potential to benefit the entire region. Our work continues to inform DOE EM cleanup and property transfer and advances site reindustrialization resulting in private sector developments that are creating well-paying jobs and reigniting the southern Ohio economy for generations to come,” Howe said.

Greg Browning, a former 51ÂŇÂ× Board of Trustees chair and current chair of the Voinovich School Advisory Board, said the PORTSfuture Project is a prime example of the University’s unique and multi-faceted charge in the region.

“It’s unique in the sense of a public policy school having all these connections to grant-funded projects, including with the private sector and of course the public and non-profit sectors,” he said. “There are all these relationships that really help the region and various players in the region get stronger. It helps them with a variety of projects, education and health-related projects, and uniquely economic development projects. It’s just a rarity.”

Browning added of Howe’s lengthy service leading the project, “It's a major commitment on her part and others. (Former Governor and U.S. Senator George) Voinovich was a big public-private partnership guy, and in many ways that’s a public-private partnership.”

Stakeholder input

Two key players in the ongoing PORTSfuture efforts agreed that the collaborations with OHIO and other stakeholders have been key to the project’s successes.

“The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service through their PORTSfuture Program have been invaluable partners in preparing our region for long-term economic growth tied to the redevelopment of the PORTS site,” said Kara Willis, regional talent manager for , JobsOhio’s regional development arm.

“Their workforce readiness study gave us a clear, data-driven understanding of both the existing labor market strengths and the specific workforce needs identified by incoming developers. As OhioSE and JobsOhio work directly with Centrus Energy, Inc. to align regional skills and pipeline development strategies with their future workforce needs, this kind of proactive planning is exactly what ensures our region isn’t just reacting to economic opportunities—but shaping it,” Willis said.

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Trillium H₂Power Co-Founder and Board Chairman Zane Rhodes said he’s witnessed first-hand the lasting impact of the initiative.

“What began in 2011 as a DOE-funded community engagement and research effort has evolved into a cornerstone for the region’s economic transition,” he said. “Through open dialogue, transparency, and technical rigor, the PORTSfuture team—under the leadership of Stephanie Howe—gave the people of southern Ohio a meaningful voice in shaping the future of the former uranium enrichment site.”

“The comprehensive community survey conducted by OU helped identify the industries most compatible with local priorities—energy, advanced manufacturing, and clean technologies—and provided the DOE with a clear, community-driven roadmap for reindustrialization. That guidance has proven invaluable in aligning federal cleanup goals with regional job creation and economic revitalization,” he continued.

“The Voinovich School’s continued leadership—through the work of professionals like Stephanie Howe, Mike Zimmer, and Dr. Benjamin Cross—has translated research into tangible opportunity. Their efforts to evaluate and promote integrated energy and manufacturing concepts, including the Integrated Energy System–Closed Loop Manufacturing (IES-CLM) framework, were instrumental in shaping viable redevelopment pathways,” Rhodes said.

Howe’s work, supported by the DOE and SODI, laid the foundation for today’s redevelopment success stories.

“As a result of that groundwork, our company, Newpoint Gas, was honored to have our Trillium H₂Power project selected as the first initiative advancing under this vision. It reflects the shared values established through PORTSfuture: environmental stewardship, economic sustainability, and long-term community benefit,” Rhodes added.

“The collaboration between DOE, 51ÂŇÂ×, and SODI continues to stand as a national model for how thoughtful planning and public engagement can transform a former nuclear site into a foundation for the next generation of clean energy and manufacturing,” he said.

Centrus announcement

State and local officials in late September welcomed the news that Centrum plans to expand operations at the diffusion plant site and is seeking billions in new federal funding to that end.

“The expansion is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and 300 new operations jobs at the Piketon site, while retaining 127 existing jobs, boosting Low-Enriched Uranium and High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium production,” , the state’s privatized development arm, .

“The time has come to restore America’s ability to enrich uranium at scale,” Centrus CEO Amir Vexler stated. “We are planning a historic, multi-billion-dollar investment right here in Ohio – supported by a nationwide supply chain to do just that. When it comes to powering our energy future, it’s time to stop relying on foreign, state-owned corporations and start investing in American technology, built by American workers.”

The project is also expected to support hundreds of jobs at Centrus’ centrifuge manufacturing plant in Tennessee and throughout its manufacturing supply chain, according to JobsOhio. The expansion is also expected to result in thousands of indirect jobs in Ohio, Tennessee, and across the country.

The company’s announcement was made at the Ross County Employment Expo in Chillicothe, where Centrus met with potential job candidates.