Washington targets nuclear fuel bottleneck with major enrichment awards

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $2.7 billion to strengthen domestic uranium enrichment capabilities, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign services and secure fuel supplies for both existing nuclear reactors and next-generation nuclear systems.

According to foreign media reports, although uranium mining and conversion capacity in the US have begun to recover in recent years, enrichment has remained the most vulnerable segment of the nuclear fuel supply chain. For much of the past decade, the primary constraint has not been uranium production itself, but the ability to process uranium into reactor-ready fuel. Enrichment — required to raise uranium to specifications suitable for nuclear reactors — has continued to be concentrated outside the US, leaving the country’s nuclear sector exposed to external supply risks.

That dependence has posed challenges for the nation’s 94 operating commercial reactors as well as for advanced reactor projects under development, elevating enrichment from a technical issue to a strategic priority. In response, the federal government has taken a series of steps to rebuild domestic enrichment capacity, including funding across the nuclear fuel cycle, support for advanced fuel development, backing for reactor deployment and life extension, and broader efforts to restore industrial supply chains linking uranium production to reactor operations.

Building on this groundwork, DOE has now committed $2.7 billion to expand enrichment services within the US, engaging domestic providers to supply both conventional low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is required for advanced nuclear technologies.

“President Trump is catalysing a resurgence in the nation’s nuclear energy sector to strengthen American security and prosperity,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. “Today’s awards show that this administration is committed to restoring a secure domestic nuclear fuel supply chain capable of producing the nuclear fuels needed to power the reactors of today and the advanced reactors of tomorrow.”

The latest awards follow the establishment last year of a broader enrichment contracting framework, under which DOE signed agreements with six companies eligible to compete for future work. From that pool, three companies were selected to receive task orders under the current funding round.

American Centrifuge Operating was awarded up to $900 million to establish domestic enrichment capacity for high-assay low-enriched uranium. General Matter also received up to $900 million to develop HALEU enrichment capability. Orano Federal Services was awarded up to $900 million to expand US production of low-enriched uranium for commercial reactor fuel.

DOE said the enrichment contracts are structured around strict, milestone-based requirements and are intended to support fuel supply for the existing nuclear fleet while enabling future advanced reactor deployments.

Separately, the department allocated an additional $28 million to Global Laser Enrichment to continue development of next-generation uranium enrichment technology. The funding follows a competitive solicitation launched in December and is intended to further advance innovative approaches to domestic enrichment.

By Tamilla Hasanova