The Department of Energy plans to provide high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel to five domestic advanced reactor developers, in a critical step toward deploying next-generation nuclear technologies and reducing reliance on foreign uranium supply chains.
The initial “HALEU” allocations will go to several of the usual suspects at the forefront of America’s advanced reactor push — X-energy, Kairos Power, Westinghouse Electric Co. and TerraPower — alongside lesser-known startup Radiant Industries, which is working on a transportable reactor for remote locations. Some could begin receiving material as early as this fall, according to Wednesday’s announcement, though even the most bullish estimates say commercial advanced reactors are at least two years away.
The announcement comes amid a growing push for a nuclear renaissance in America. The small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors under development by dozens of entities aim to make nuclear energy economical with an assembly line-like process.
“SMRs offer exciting new technology,” said Dan Leistikow, vice president for corporate communications at Centrus Energy, the only U.S.-owned company currently enriching uranium domestically. “But only if they have fuel. Imagine trying to sell cars if there were no gas stations.”
