The Department of Energy is directing 2.7 billion dollars into building a domestic supply of enriched nuclear fuel, a step aimed at reducing US reliance on foreign sources for the material that powers both existing reactors and next generation designs. The agency awarded task orders worth 900 million dollars each to three companies to expand enrichment capacity inside the United States.
The awards target two fuel types. American Centrifuge Operating, a subsidiary of Centrus Energy, and General Matter received task orders to develop domestic high-assay low-enriched uranium, known as HALEU, the fuel most advanced reactors require. Orano Federal Services received an award to build domestic low-enriched uranium capacity for the conventional fleet. American Centrifuge Operating's fixed-price order supports commercial-scale HALEU production at its Piketon, Ohio, facility.
Fuel availability is on a set schedule. The DOE intends to make 21 metric tons of HALEU available to industry, with deliveries staged over time. Congress directed the department to provide 3 metric tons by September 2024, 8 metric tons by the end of 2025, and 10 metric tons by June 30, 2026, to meet near term needs as advanced reactor projects prepare to fuel their first cores.
The funding sits within a wider federal push. Executive orders established a Reactor Pilot Program targeting criticality in at least three advanced reactor designs by July 4, 2026, and a Fuel Line Pilot Program to speed construction of fuel production lines and expand capacity for TRISO fuel. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act separately appropriated 700 million dollars to support HALEU transportation and availability, reinforcing the effort to rebuild a domestic fuel supply chain.
Source: American Nuclear Society - https://www.ans.org/news/article-7652/doe-awards-27b-for-haleu-and-leu-enrichment/