The US Department of Energy awarded $2.7 billion in task orders to three companies in January 2026 to expand domestic uranium enrichment capacity, aiming to reduce the country's dependence on Russian-enriched uranium and build out fuel supply chains for an expanding nuclear fleet.
The awards, structured over a ten-year period, were distributed to American Centrifuge Operating, General Matter, and Orano Federal Services, each receiving $900 million. American Centrifuge and General Matter will develop high-assay low-enriched uranium production capacity, which is required as fuel for advanced reactor designs including small modular reactors. Orano's award targets expansion of conventional low-enriched uranium enrichment.
Orano's funded project, called Project IKE, is targeting a $5 billion uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent technical positions.
The investment addresses a structural vulnerability in the US nuclear fuel supply chain. The United States currently imports approximately two-thirds of the low-enriched uranium needed to operate its 94 commercial nuclear reactors. A complete ban on Russian uranium imports takes effect in 2028, creating a firm deadline for domestic supply alternatives to reach production scale.
The $2.7 billion enrichment program is one component of a broader federal nuclear investment strategy that also includes reactor restart support, advanced reactor development funding through the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, and NRC licensing process reform. DOE projects that domestic LEU and HALEU production from the three awardees will begin coming online between 2027 and 2030.
Note: This story covers uranium enrichment investment. Uranium spot market and mining stock coverage appears separately in the precious-metals-mining vertical.
Source: Department of Energy -- https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-awards-27-billion-restore-american-uranium-enrichment