As of May 2024, only Russia and China had infrastructure capable of producing HALEU at scale, according to Britain's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. That assessment still frames the Western supply picture: limited production capacity remains the market's primary constraint.

One licensed plant in the United States

Centrus Energy's Piketon, Ohio facility is the only US plant licensed to manufacture HALEU, having received NRC approval in 2021. By June 2025 it had delivered 900 kilograms to the Department of Energy — well below projected US requirements of more than 40 tonnes before 2030. The company's American Centrifuge Plant expansion is drawing international support, including from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and POSCO International.

Urenco's Capenhurst timeline

In the United Kingdom, Urenco is developing a Capenhurst facility with planned annual HALEU capacity of up to 10 tonnes by 2031, supported by a GBP 196 million government grant drawn from a wider GBP 300 million program. That single project, if delivered on schedule, would still be a fraction of what reactor developers say they need this decade.

Laser enrichment edges closer at Paducah

The NRC has released a final environmental impact statement for Global Laser Enrichment's proposed Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility near Paducah, Kentucky. GLE and technology partner Silex Systems said the EIS supports issuance of a license to begin construction; a safety evaluation report is the remaining step before the NRC issues a combined construction and operating license. GLE completed its license application in July 2025 and acquired the 665-acre site in November 2024.

The licensed scope covers re-enriching depleted uranium hexafluoride tails to natural levels and enriching natural-grade UF6 to a maximum of 8 percent uranium-235 — up to 2,000 metric tons of uranium per year of equivalent natural UF6 and 6 million SWU per year. That is LEU, not HALEU, but it adds separative work to a tight Western market. Silex, which developed the laser technology, holds 51 percent of GLE.

Interest around the site is already clustering: General Matter, which also plans an enrichment facility near the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, incorporated parts of the PLEF environmental report into its own NRC license application materials.

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