The US Department of Energy has launched a decade-long, $2.7 billion program to revive domestic uranium enrichment, awarding multiyear contracts this month to three fuel manufacturers in a bid to secure supplies for current reactors and the next wave of advanced nuclear technology.
Congressional appropriators approved the initiative in late 2025, but today’s allocation of federal dollars sets the plan in motion, specifying who will do the work, when the first enriched uranium is expected to flow, and how the government plans to break a supply chain dominated by Russia. The effort pairs national-security urgency with the administration’s climate goals, betting that a strong civilian nuclear sector can both decarbonize the grid and insulate US utilities from geopolitical shocks.
Less than two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted global energy markets, the United States still imports roughly one-quarter of the enriched uranium its reactors consume. Officials say that dependency ends by 2028. The Energy Department’s new contracts—split evenly among Centrus Energy’s American Centrifuge Operating, General Matter, and Orano Federal Services—aim to establish domestic production of both low-enriched uranium (LEU) for today’s light-water fleets and high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for the small modular reactors (SMRs) utilities hope to deploy next decade.
The DOE Announcement
Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the awards as the largest federal investment in the nuclear-fuel supply chain since the Cold War, calling them “a clear strategy to restore a secure domestic nuclear fuel supply chain capable of meeting current and future reactor technologies’ requirements,” according to the department’s statement. The agency will disburse $2.7 billion over ten years, with work beginning immediately under cost-shared contracts that require the companies to shoulder roughly half of total project costs. A summary of the initiative was published by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Who Gets the Money
Three primary contractors will each receive up to $900 million:
- Centrus Energy’s American Centrifuge Operating, which already runs a demonstration HALEU cascade in Piketon, Ohio, secured its task order on 6 January under a separate but linked contracting vehicle, according to Reuters.
- General Matter, a privately held enrichment start-up, is charged with rapidly scaling its centrifuge technology for commercial HALEU production.
- Orano Federal Services, the US arm of French fuel supplier Orano, will focus on LEU output to serve the existing 93-reactor fleet.
A fourth firm, Global Laser Enrichment, will receive a smaller $28 million grant to mature its laser-based enrichment process, maintaining a pipeline of advanced technologies the department could tap later.
Industry Reactions
All three primary awardees welcomed the infusion of capital, telling World Nuclear News it would allow them to accelerate facility build-outs, hire skilled labor, and place long-lead equipment orders. Centrus said its new contract provides the certainty investors and utilities have demanded before committing to HALEU fuel purchases. Orano called the awards “a turning point” that reestablishes the United States as a serious enrichment player, while General Matter said it plans to break ground on a commercial HALEU plant by 2027.
Why HALEU Matters
Low-enriched uranium—fuel containing up to 5% uranium-235—powers today’s reactors. Emerging SMRs, however, require HALEU, enriched to between 5% and 20% U-235. Higher enrichment allows designers to build smaller cores, extend fuel cycles, and improve heat rates, making SMRs more flexible partners for wind and solar on a decarbonized grid. At present, Russia’s Tenex is the only company producing HALEU at commercial scale, controlling about 40% of global enrichment capacity overall. DOE officials say that concentration threatens both the economics of SMRs and Western energy security.
The Strategy to End Russian Imports
The United States currently buys roughly $1 billion worth of Russian enriched uranium annually. Under legislation passed last year, those imports will be banned outright by 2028, giving utilities a deadline and the new contractors a guaranteed market. The department’s plan stages production targets: initial LEU deliveries by 2027, sufficient HALEU to fuel at least two demonstration SMRs by 2028, and enough combined capacity by 2033 to cover the entire US reactor fleet—existing and planned.
Financing and Cost-Share Details
The $2.7 billion federal commitment represents about half of the total build-out cost, with the companies obliged to match the government dollar-for-dollar through equity, debt, or reinvested earnings. Centrus has already invested roughly $200 million in its centrifuge cascade and will put up at least $200 million more to scale it, according to the DOE summary. Orano operates enrichment plants in Europe and plans to adapt proven centrifuge technology for its US site. General Matter has not disclosed its cost-share breakdown but said private capital markets are “fully engaged” now that federal contracts are signed.
Ripple Effects for Miners and Utilities
For US uranium miners such as Energy Fuels and Cameco-Quietus, the investment creates what analysts call a guaranteed offtake market for domestic enrichment. Historically, mined uranium oxide had to be shipped overseas—often to Russia or Europe—for conversion and enrichment before returning as fuel. Domestic enrichment closes that loop, keeping more of the value chain inside US borders and potentially shortening delivery times. Market analysts project that uranium spot prices, currently hovering between $80 and $100 per pound, could stabilize at elevated levels through the 2030s as SMR deployment accelerates.
Clean-Energy Credentials
The Biden administration’s climate blueprint counts on nuclear power to provide up to 20% of a zero-carbon grid by mid-century. The new enrichment program aligns with separate DOE grants for advanced reactor demonstrations and life-extension projects at existing plants, underscoring nuclear’s dual role as a decarbonization tool and a buffer against energy-price volatility. HALEU, in particular, is viewed as essential for SMRs that promise load-following flexibility similar to natural-gas peakers but without the emissions.
Security and Non-Proliferation Safeguards
Government officials stressed that all new facilities will operate under existing Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Enrichment to the HALEU range remains well below weapons-grade levels, and DOE will retain the right to audit material balances, control exports, and, if necessary, direct production to defense needs. The contracts also require robust cybersecurity measures, reflecting heightened concerns about industrial espionage and sabotage.
Global Context
The US move follows similar efforts in Europe, where the European Union is funding upgrades at Urenco and Orano plants to boost non-Russian enrichment capacity. Tokyo Electric and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency are likewise exploring HALEU production. Collectively, these programs suggest a realignment of the nuclear-fuel market away from its post-Cold-War reliance on Russian centrifuges. Analysts caution, however, that building centrifuge facilities and qualifying new fuel takes years; any significant supply disruption before 2028 could still strain utilities.
Long-Term Outlook
By fusing industrial policy with energy security, Washington aims to anchor a domestic supply chain that spans uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, and reactor construction. If the program hits its milestones—early LEU in 2027, first commercial HALEU in 2028, and full self-sufficiency in the early 2030s—the United States would regain a strategic capability it ceded three decades ago. “This is about ensuring our reactors, our submarines, and our grid are never again hostage to geopolitical blackmail,” Secretary Wright said in the DOE statement. Whether global markets reward that resilience with competitive pricing remains to be seen, but after decades on the sidelines, American centrifuges are returning to operation.
Sources
- https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-awards-27-billion-restore-american-uranium-enrichment
- https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/centrus-secures-900-million-task-order-us-energy-department-2026-01-06/
- https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/us-enrichment-funding-reactions
- https://www.nucnet.org/news/us-nuclear-fuel-makers-get-usd2-7-billion-as-washington-bids-to-ends-reliance-on-russia-1-2-2026
