PIKETON, Ohio— President Barack Obama's administration is making sure that work will continue to develop and test a southern Ohio plant that would enrich uranium for nuclear power plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy will ensure cost-shared funding in a deal with USEC Inc. for the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon. The department said Wednesday the cooperative agreement will move critical research forward while protecting taxpayer dollars.

The $350 million project is meant to demonstrate that the uranium enrichment technology will work on a commercial basis, reducing financial risks that have held up USEC's application for a $2 billion loan guarantee for the plant.

The project has bipartisan support in Ohio, where it could create as many as 4,000 jobs in a struggling region.

First Published June 13, 2012, 2:33 p.m.