US federal support for HALEU has entered a new phase. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocated USD 700 million to HALEU, and 2024 supplemental appropriations added USD 2.7 billion for domestic enrichment. At the beginning of 2026, that money began converting into specific industrial commitments.
Three awards, one bottleneck
In January 2026 the Department of Energy made three USD 900 million awards. Orano Federal Services received funding to develop new LEU production capacity at a gas centrifuge plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. American Centrifuge Operating — Centrus Energy's Piketon, Ohio operation — received USD 900 million to add capacity for producing HALEU; the site has to date produced only demonstration quantities for DOE. General Matter received USD 900 million to build new enrichment capacity.
The awards did not extend to other newcomers such as Nusano and LIS Technologies, nor to Louisiana Energy Services, the Urenco USA subsidiary and the only commercial uranium enrichment company currently operating in the United States — a notable omission for the country's only at-scale enricher.
Allocations and the Fuel Line Pilot
Demand-side policy has moved in parallel. Fifteen companies requested HALEU from DOE, and eight developers received conditional allocations during 2025, including TRISO-X, TerraPower, Kairos Power, Radiant Industries and Westinghouse. In September 2025, DOE selected Oklo, Terrestrial Energy, TRISO-X and Valar Atomics for its Fuel Line Pilot Program.
The Russian uranium clock
Legislation signed in May 2024 bans Russian enriched uranium imports into the United States through 2040, with waivers scheduled to expire at the start of 2028. Russia subsequently introduced restrictions on shipments to US customers. The combination of a hard import cutoff and retaliatory supply limits is the strongest structural driver behind Western fuel cycle investment.
Security obligations add cost and time
Material enriched to 10 percent or more falls under NRC Category II requirements, including enhanced physical security, material accounting and certified transportation packages. Those obligations, alongside lengthy fuel qualification programs and uncertain pricing, are why public funding remains decisive for HALEU economics.
This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.