Many advanced reactor designs under development need HALEU fuel enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235, a grade above the low-enriched uranium used by today's commercial fleet. In the United States, that demand has run ahead of commercial supply.

No commercial source — yet

With no commercial source of HALEU in the United States, the Department of Energy has been actively supporting development of a domestic HALEU supply chain. Centrus Energy's existing Ohio cascade has produced HALEU since late 2023 under a DOE contract, using AC-100M advanced centrifuges built under a contract initiated in 2019. That output is tied to a demonstration cascade rather than the commercial-scale supply that advanced reactors will need.

Two projects, one 2029 target

Centrus plans additional centrifuge cascades at Piketon to expand HALEU production capacity, produce LEU feed material for HALEU cascades, produce additional LEU for the commercial market, and service national security needs. DOE selected Centrus in June 2026 for a US$900 million task order to expand Piketon to include commercial-scale HALEU production; options up to US$170 million for HALEU production and delivery bring the total potential value to US$1.07 billion. First new capacity is expected in 2029.

At Paducah, Kentucky, General Matter received a US$900 million DOE task order in January 2026 to create domestic HALEU production capacity. The company's NRC license application, accepted in October 2026, initially covers LEU production; General Matter plans to submit an amendment next year to produce HALEU. It targets full operation in 2029.

HALEU fuel enriched to between 5% and 20% of the fissile uranium-235 isotope is needed to fuel many advanced reactor designs under development.

The common 2029 timeline matters because advanced reactor developers are planning first-of-a-kind projects that will need fuel ahead of commercial operation. Centrus says its Oak Ridge facility is the only advanced centrifuge manufacturing plant in the United States with proven, de-risked technology, and that it relies on an exclusively domestic supply chain. The expansion there is backed by a US$560 million investment announced in January 2026 to create a high-rate plant capable of supporting production of thousands of advanced centrifuges.

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