Ohio Nuclear Supply Chain Analysis

As the nuclear renaissance gains momentum across the nation, a nuclear hub is emerging at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) in Pike County, Ohio. PORTS was constructed in the early 1950s to enrich uranium for the nation’s nuclear defense and energy missions. The site was vital to our country’s efforts to fight and win the Cold War. For over 70 years PORTS has served as a major employer in the region, averaging 2,100-2,500 workers annually.  DOE ceased uranium enrichment operations at PORTS in 2001, and decommissioning activities began in earnest in 2010. As decommissioning progresses, DOE continues to transfer assets for beneficial reuse.

Key industries driving the reindustrialization of the PORTS site include Centrus Energy Corp., which is producing High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) for advanced nuclear reactors and the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facility operated by Mission Conversion Services Alliance. Additionally, Oklo Inc. announced a partnership with Meta Platforms Inc. in January 2026 to develop a 1.2 GW nuclear power project utilizing land Oklo purchased from SODI (formerly Department of Energy property). Along with these major nuclear-related projects, Ohio is home to hundreds of companies that serve aspects of the nuclear supply chain.

To illustrate the impact of the nuclear industry to Ohio in general and to the southern Ohio specifically, PORTSfuture conducted a three-part study that included:

• Completed an NSC directory of companies in Ohio that are operating in the nuclear industry and asset mapping of NSC companies operating in the nuclear industry in Ohio.

• Completed a report entitled Ohio’s Nuclear Opportunity: A Value Chain Assessment and Recommendations for Development that provides an overview of the state’s current position in the nuclear value chain. The report identifies the most promising opportunities to strengthen Ohio’s role in small modular reactors, next-generation nuclear energy, defense and aerospace, and nuclear medicine end-markets. The study maps the firms, institutions, and market segments active in Ohio and assesses how the State of Ohio can build upon existing strengths in these areas.

• Conducting an economic impact analysis of the nuclear industry in Ohio. This includes a focus on projects located in Pike County, Ohio.
  • Impact of Ohio nuclear activities modeled for direct impacts only included the following eight buckets:
    1. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
    2. NASA Glenn Research Center.
    3. Vistra’s Ohio nuclear power plants (Davis Besse and Perry Nuclear).
    4. Centrus Energy Corp.
    5. $580 million of FFY25 DOE funding for PORTS site remediation.
    6. PLANNED PROJECT: Oklo Inc. plans to build 16 reactors in Pike County.
    7. Nuclear medicine.
    8. The eighth bucket was comprised of remaining businesses in the nuclear supply chain that were not captured in the seven buckets above. Businesses in the eighth bucker were modeled for direct, indirect, and induced impacts and were also modeled to show impacts for the State of Ohio, OVRDC region, and Pike County.
  • Results were aggregated for known direct impacts to Pike County for buckets 4, 5, and 8.
  • Additionally, results were aggregated for the Pike County known direct impacts for buckets 4, 5, 6, and 8 along with bucket 6, the projected Oklo impacts, to provide an overall nuclear industry impact to Pike County combining known and projected impacts.

There are 343 unique companies operating in the nuclear industry, across various segments of the value chain, at 456 locations in Ohio. The directory was created using resources from the SODI nuclear hub planning grant funded by the Ohio Department of Development and PORTSfuture Program funding. The remainder of the NSC analysis was funded by the PORTSfuture Program.

This PORTSfuture Program nuclear supply chain analysis will provide data for use by the State of Ohio, SODI, and regional entities for building out the nuclear supply chain to further expand economic opportunity.