U.S. Energy Department Makes Conditional Commitment to Provide HALEU to Five U.S. Nuclear Developers

The U.S. Energy Department on April 9 announced conditional commitments to provide high assay low enriched uranium, or HALEU, to five U.S. nuclear developers to fulfill their short-term fuel requirements. The five companies are: TerraPower, Kairos Power, TRISO-X, Radiant Industries, and Westinghouse Electric Company.

This first round of HALEU allocations is a positive step in bringing innovative U.S. nuclear technologies closer to commercialization and will enhance the utilization of nuclear energy to deliver more reliable, secure and affordable energy to the U.S. The allocation of HALEU material will support U.S. nuclear developers in fueling their advanced reactors with resources from robust supply chains, marking an important step forward in bolstering the U.S. nuclear power sector.

In October 2024, the department announced four contracts to bolster the domestic supply of HALEU, which is uranium enriched between 5 and 20 percent. HALEU helps to achieve smaller designs for advanced nuclear reactors, improving efficiency and lifespan. Nuclear energy supplied around 20 percent of the electricity in the U.S. and around 48 percent of carbon-free electricity in 2023.

The Energy Act of 2020 directed the establishment of the HALEU Availability Program to ensure access to HALEU for civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use.  A number of advanced reactors need HALEU to accomplish lengthier operating cycles, improved efficiency compared to existing technologies and smaller designs, but HALEU is currently unavailable from domestic suppliers. To help fill this shortcoming, the department created the HALEU allocation procedure for nuclear developers to request HALEU material from department sources.

The department received HALEU requests from 15 companies, and for now five companies fulfilled the prioritization criteria. The department will begin the contracting process to assign the material to the five companies. The allocation process is currently ongoing, and the department aims to allocate HALEU to other businesses in the near term.