In an email sent to WKMS, General Matter said that the company intends to make a "historic investment in American nuclear infrastructure" by restoring a shuttered facility in Paducah. The gaseous diffusion plant in McCracken County, which ceased operations in 2013, was built by the U.S. government in the 1950s to bolster national defense efforts – and later to generate fuel for nuclear power plants.
"Seventy-five years ago, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission selected Paducah to help lead the nation's original enrichment efforts," the email reads. "We are proud to return to and rebuild this historic site to power a new era of American energy independence."
Local officials, including Paducah Mayor George Bray, confirmed that General Matter has been in talks to develop this facility in recent months.
This business development follows a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump that have aimed to bolster nuclear energy development in the U.S.
The former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant has been at the center of multiple major development talks over the past year. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Energy listed it as being among the four sites being considered for "cutting edge data center and energy generation projects." Plans are moving forward to establish the world's first commercial laser uranium enrichment plant on property adjacent to PGDP. The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce has also helped to push these development talks along by securing a DOE grant to commission a study on the site's re-industrialization potential.
General Matter is led by former SpaceX employee Scott Nolan, a partner at the venture capital firm Founders Fund.
Formed in 2024 in San Francisco, California, the company announced itself on the social media platform X in April as being "incubated within" Founders Fund by a team of people from SpaceX, Tesla, Anduril, national labs and the U.S. Department of Defense. That VC fund was co-founded by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who World Nuclear News reported joined General Matter's board earlier this year. Thiel – who also co-founded the controversial data-mining firm Palantir contracted by the U.S. government to track migrant movements – is also listed as a director among the company's initial officers on General Matter's business filing with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office, which was filed Tuesday.
In December 2024, General Matter was one of six companies added to the DOE's list of contractors they could procure low enriched uranium from to incentivize the development of new uranium production capacity in the country.
A formal announcement event is planned for Aug. 5 in Paducah. According to General Matter's email, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and Congressman James Comer are all expected to be on hand, along with members of the nuclear industry and local officials.
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