PARIS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - French nuclear fuel specialist

Orano could begin enriching uranium at a new plant in the United

States in the early 2030s, an executive said on Friday, boosting

the company's share of the global market as the U.S. weans

itself off Russian supplies.

The state-owned company said on Wednesday it would build a

new plant in Tennessee, months after the administration of

President Joe Biden signed legislation to end U.S. dependence on

Russia's Rosatom.

Orano is one of only a handful of companies with fuel

enrichment capabilities and demand is growing as new markets

look to nuclear power for cleaner energy.

Orano is already planning a 1.7 billion euro ($1.9 billion)

expansion of its enrichment plant in southern France, increasing

capacity by more than 30%, or 2.5 million Separative Work Units

(SWU), partly to meet demand from U.S. clients.

An SWU is a measure of the uranium enrichment process,

proportional to the input and mass produced.

Building a facility on U.S. soil will allow the company to

tap into up to $2.7 billion of U.S funding for domestic uranium

projects, said Francois Lurin, head of the company's chemistry

enrichment business.

The company is aiming for several million SWUs at the Oak

Ridge, Tennessee plant, said Lurin, but will adapt to customer

needs and the required enrichment rates.

The plant could also be equipped to produce HALEU-type fuels

that are enriched to higher levels than today's commercial

nuclear fuel for the next generation of large and small nuclear

reactors, he added.

Investment decisions on Oak Ridge should start next year,

added Lurin, once the company gets long-term commitments from

customers.

Orano also needs to secure a licence from the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) along with federal support.

"If everything goes according to plan, if we start the work,

if we obtain financial support from the American government and

firm orders from customers and if the exchanges with the NRC go

well, we can imagine production in the early 2030s," he said.

($1 = 0.9010 euros)