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The Department of Energy has announced the first five recipients of high-assay low-enriched uranium under its HALEU Availability Program (Power Magazine).

• These nuclear developers are TRISO-X, TerraPower, Kairos Power, Radiant Industries and Westinghouse Electric Co. 

The big picture: “The Trump administration is unleashing all sources of affordable, reliable and secure American energy—and this includes accelerating the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

• “Allocating this HALEU material will help U.S. nuclear developers deploy their advanced reactors with materials sourced from secure supply chains, marking an important step forward in President Trump’s program to revitalize America’s nuclear sector.” 

The program: The HALEU Availability Program was established in 2020 to supply HALEU for research, development and commercial use.

• “While the existing U.S. fleet runs on uranium fuel enriched up to 5% with uranium-235 (U-235), HALEU is a nuclear material enriched between 5% to 20%. The material has several uses in fuel for advanced reactors—such as fast reactors, molten salt reactors and microreactors…,” according to Power Magazine.

Replacing Russia: Currently, the only HALEU sold for commercial use is produced in Russia, which is a national security risk.

• But the Bethesda, Maryland–based Centrus—the only U.S.-owned enricher of uranium—is aiming to change that with its Piketon, Ohio, enrichment plant. 

What’s next: This initial distribution may be available to companies by this fall, and the program will make further allocations in the coming months.

• In all, the DOE plans to provide companies with 21 metric tons of HALEU by mid-2026.
• Fifteen companies have requested HALEU from the DOE, according to the agency.

Supply chain: The DOE is also working to expand and strengthen the supply chain for HALEU, from processing and enrichment to deconversion and fabrication.

• “In October 2024, the agency named six companies to provide deconversion services to convert HALEU from uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) into oxide or metal forms suitable for use in advanced reactors,” according to Power Magazine.
• Those firms were Nuclear Fuel Services (BWXT), American Centrifuge Operating (Centrus Energy), Framatome, GE Vernova, Orano and Westinghouse.

The last word: “Nuclear energy can help the U.S. generate more clean energy, stabilize our grids and improve our energy security,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons told Congress previously. 

• “Expanding the domestic nuclear supply chain is both a manufacturing and a national security priority,” NAM Director of Energy and Resources Policy Michael Davin said. “The NAM supports production and investment into the domestic nuclear supply chain and will continue to push for the restoration of American leadership in nuclear energy.”