GAO Flags US HALEU Gap as China and Russia Hold Scalable Production

A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published in August 2026 confirmed that China and Russia are currently the only countries with scalable HALEU production capacity, while the United States does not have commercial-scale HALEU enrichment capability.

Supply forecasts

The Department of Energy (DOE) expects about 21.2 metric tons of HALEU to be available by the end of 2028 and about 23.4 metric tons by the end of 2030. DOE’s 2024 assessment projected U.S. commercial HALEU annual demand at 50 metric tons by 2035 and about 500 metric tons by 2050.

The gap between projected availability and long-term demand underscores the challenge facing advanced reactor developers that plan to use HALEU fuel.

Centrus demonstration and commercial transition

Centrus completed production of the final 900 kilograms of HALEU under its demonstration contract in June 2026, bringing cumulative output to more than 1,900 kilograms. A new $900 million DOE contract requires a shift to commercial scale, with an initial build target of 12 metric tons per year and first new capacity expected online in 2029.

International plans

Europe’s Urenco plans to build a HALEU facility in the United Kingdom with a capacity of about 10 metric tons per year, but supply is not expected until the early 2030s.

Those timelines matter for reactor developers. TerraPower signed a separate enrichment agreement with a South African company because it did not believe DOE could provide enough HALEU within the time window needed for its first reactor, according to the source report.

The GAO finding places the U.S. HALEU supply chain at a competitive disadvantage as advanced reactor deployment accelerates globally.

China, meanwhile, holds an early advantage in HALEU feedstock, according to the report, but its UZrH production line must scale from hundreds of kilograms to metric-ton levels within the window to convert raw-material advantage into product advantage.

This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.