The Department of Energy committed 2.7 billion dollars in January 2026 to restore domestic uranium enrichment capacity, a foundational investment aimed at cutting reliance on Russian nuclear fuel. The funding was authorized under the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act and directs money toward both conventional low-enriched uranium and the advanced high-assay low-enriched uranium that next-generation reactors require.
Several companies received cornerstone awards. Centrus Energy secured a 900 million dollar award to scale commercial operations in Piketon, Ohio, producing both LEU and HALEU fuel. Orano Federal Services is directing its funding toward Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where it is developing Project Ike, a 5 billion dollar low-enriched uranium facility expected to begin production in 2031. General Matter received 900 million dollars to accelerate its project at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky.
The awards target a strategic vulnerability. The United States has depended on foreign suppliers, including Russia, for much of its enriched uranium, and the advanced fuel needed for small modular and next-generation reactors has been in especially short supply. HALEU production in particular has been a bottleneck for developers whose designs cannot proceed without a secure domestic source.
Federal officials frame the enrichment push as a combination of energy security, job creation, and support for the expanding nuclear sector. By rebuilding capacity across Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the program aims to give US reactor developers a reliable fuel supply as construction of new plants accelerates.
Source: American Nuclear Society - https://www.ans.org/news/article-7652/doe-awards-27b-for-haleu-and-leu-enrichment/