The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Monday that it would award contracts totaling $2.7 billion to three companies to strengthen domestic uranium enrichment over the next 10 years, a move aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on Russian supplies. In a statement, the department said that American Centrifuge Operations (ACO), General Atomics, and Orano had been awarded the contracts. These contracts will require the companies to meet specific milestones to provide low-enriched and highly enriched uranium enrichment services for existing nuclear power plants and new small modular reactors.