The Department of Energy has agreed to further funding for research at Usec’s American Centrifuge Project under a wide-ranging agreement that reorganizes its oversight and transfers assets to DOE.After the project failed to obtain a $2 billion DOE loan guarantee last year, short bouts of agency funding for a research, development and demonstration project offered temporary life extensions for American Centrifuge, which Usec has said it will shut down absent government support. The latest agreements with DOE, announced in a Usec release Wednesday, envision a $350 million program with the agency providing 80 percent of the funds and the company providing the rest. The first round of funds will total $110 million, paying project costs through November. Of that, DOE will provide $87.7 million by assuming the disposal responsibility for depleted uranium tails from Usec, freeing up money the company would otherwise have to set aside. Budget bills in Congress include further funding to continue the centrifuge project into fiscal year 2013, although they have not yet been made law.In return, according to the release, Usec licensed enrichment technology to DOE for government purposes and gave DOE title to equipment used in the development program. It will be overseen by the newly formed American Centrifuge Demonstration LLC, which will operate outside Usec control and under government oversight.