The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $2.7 billion to restore domestic uranium enrichment, a move aimed at ending reliance on Russian nuclear fuel. The funding, announced in January 2026, was authorized under the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act and directed to four primary contractors selected to lead the effort.
The awards target both conventional and advanced fuel. Centrus Energy secured a cornerstone $900 million award to scale commercial operations in Piketon, Ohio, producing low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium, the fuel type many next-generation reactors require. Orano Federal Services received a parallel $900 million award to expand domestic low-enriched uranium production.
Additional projects round out the program. General Matter will accelerate work at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky, where the DOE's Office of Environmental Management signed a lease for a 100-acre parcel of federal land to host a new enrichment facility. The awards represent one of the largest federal commitments to the nuclear fuel cycle in years.
The urgency stems from a looming deadline. New rules will restrict imports of Russian uranium starting in 2028, making the rebuild of domestic capacity a national security priority. The DOE frames the investment as a way to support jobs, strengthen the fuel supply chain, and back the broader expansion of U.S. nuclear power.
Source: Nuclear Newswire -- https://www.ans.org/news/article-7652/doe-awards-27b-for-haleu-and-leu-enrichment/