HALEU Supply: Producers, Capacity and the Path to Usable Fuel
60-second answer: HALEU is uranium enriched above 5% and below 20% U-235 (NRC definition). As of September 2026, the only US company that has actually produced and delivered commercial-scale HALEU is Centrus, with just over 1,900 kg from its Piketon demonstration cascade, while the reactor designs waiting on this fuel need tonnes per core. The January 2026 DOE enrichment awards put $1.8 billion behind two HALEU producers, but an award is funding, not fuel: between an enrichment announcement and a loadable core sit deconversion, fabrication, transport and licensing, each with its own bottleneck. This guide tracks who supplies what, at which stage, with dated evidence for every row.
An enrichment announcement solves one part of an advanced reactor's fuel problem. A buyer needs a specific assay, a specific chemical form, a delivery date, an approved transport package and a qualified fabrication line before any of it becomes a core. Reading HALEU headlines without that chain in mind is how funding dollars get mistaken for deliverable tonnes.
What HALEU is
Enrichment level is a spectrum, and the regulatory categories matter because each step up changes the licenses, packages and facilities involved:
| Category | U-235 assay | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Natural uranium | 0.711% | Heavy-water reactors (CANDU); feed for enrichment |
| LEU | above 0.711% to 5% | Nearly all operating light-water reactors |
| LEU+ | ~5% to 10% | Higher-burnup fuel for existing LWRs (emerging) |
| HALEU | above 5% to below 20% | Most advanced and small modular reactor designs |
| HEU | 20% and above | Naval and weapons programs; not commercial fuel |
The definitions and the commercial licensing scope come from the NRC's HALEU reference; the 5–20% band is a proliferation boundary, not a technical optimum. An enrichment percentage does not specify a finished fuel product: 19.75% UF₆ gas and 19.75% uranium metal for a fast-reactor core are very different articles of commerce. For how enrichment itself is priced and measured, see our SWU guide; enriching to HALEU assays takes disproportionately more separative work per kilogram than LEU.
From enriched material to fuel a reactor can load
Four separate stages sit between a centrifuge and a reactor core, and a company can be in one without being in the others:
- Enrichment produces HALEU as UF₆ gas.
- Deconversion turns that UF₆ into an oxide or metal form that fuel makers can work with. DOE runs a dedicated program for this: six counterparties (BWXT, Centrus, Framatome, GE Vernova, Orano and Westinghouse) were selected in October 2024 for contracts of up to 10 years, with up to $800 million available across the program and a $2 million minimum per awardee. Selection is capacity-building, not proof of current throughput.
- Fabrication turns deconverted material into a qualified fuel form: TRISO pebbles or compacts, metal fast-reactor fuel, or oxide assemblies. New fuel forms and higher assays can require new or amended NRC licenses (NRC, fabrication of new fuels); our fuel cycle guide covers where fabrication sits in the chain.
- Transportation needs certified packages for assays above the standard LEU fleet, a separate approval track of its own (NRC, transportation of new fuels).
A licensed plant is also not an operating one: license issuance, construction, commissioning and sustained output are distinct milestones with years between them (NRC, new fuel-cycle facility licensing).
Who supplies what: the dated table
Every row below states what the organization has demonstrably done versus what is planned, with the evidence date. Demonstrated output, licensed limits and planned capacity are three different numbers and are never summed.
| Supplier / program | Stage | Demonstrated (dated) | Planned / licensed | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centrus (American Centrifuge, Piketon OH) | Enrichment, UF₆ up to 19.75% | >1,900 kgU HALEU produced cumulatively by contract end, June 2026 | Initial expansion targeting ~12 tU/yr, first new capacity expected 2029 | DOE 900-kg milestone; WNN, June 2026 |
| General Matter (Paducah KY) | Enrichment (HALEU) | None; site clearing on leased DOE land began Feb 2026 | Commercial plant, ~$1.5B project; company targets operation before 2030 | WNN; DOE Paducah site update |
| Orano Federal Services | Enrichment (LEU, comparison row) | n/a for HALEU; task order covers conventional LEU capacity | $900M LEU task order, Jan 2026 | DOE award |
| DOE HALEU Availability Program | Government stockpile (downblending HEU) | Statutory schedule: 3 tU by Sep 2024, 8 tU by Dec 2025, 21 tU total by Jun 2026; conditional allocations to 8 developers, 3 contracts finalized | Bridge supply until commercial enrichment scales | DOE first allocations, Apr 2025; ANS |
| Deconversion counterparties (BWXT, Centrus, Framatome, GE Vernova, Orano, Westinghouse) | UF₆ → oxide/metal | Selected Oct 2024; task-order work, no published output totals | Up to $800M program over up to 10 years | DOE deconversion awards |
| TRISO-X (X-energy subsidiary, Oak Ridge TN) | Fabrication (TRISO) | NRC license SNM-7007 issued Feb 13, 2026 (a permission, not output) | First commercial-scale advanced-fuel fabrication plant | Federal Register notice |
| Urenco USA (Eunice NM) | Enrichment (LEU+, boundary row) | Licensed for enrichment up to 5.5% U-235; below the HALEU band | LEU+ for existing fleet | NRC HALEU reference |
Rows are verified as of September 17, 2026. A company can appear at several stages (Centrus enriches and holds a deconversion contract); material should be counted once.
Funding, allocations, contracts and delivered material
The January 2026 awards are the largest US enrichment commitment in decades: $2.7 billion over ten years across three $900 million task orders, two for HALEU (American Centrifuge Operating and General Matter) and one for LEU (Orano Federal Services), plus $28 million for Global Laser Enrichment's technology development. Payments follow milestones (DOE announcement). Track the running ledger of awards and waivers on our policy page.
Each instrument proves something different:
- An award or task order proves the government will pay if milestones are met. It is not capacity and not fuel.
- A conditional allocation under the HALEU Availability Program proves a developer is in line for government material; the April 2025 first round named TRISO-X, TerraPower, Kairos Power, Radiant and Westinghouse, and later rounds added Antares, Standard Nuclear and Abilene Christian University/Natura (ANS).
- A finalized contract proves terms; DOE had finalized three allocation contracts as of mid-2026.
- Delivered kilograms are the only number that proves fuel. On that measure the public record shows Centrus's >1,900 kgU cumulative, plus DOE's downblending schedule.
The entire statutory availability program through June 2026 is 21 tonnes; a single large fast reactor's first core needs roughly that much on its own.
Fuel requirements by project and first-load timing
The demand side of the equation is design-specific. Which reactors need HALEU at all, at what assay and in which form, is a per-design question answered in our reactor-by-reactor fuel comparison: most non-water-cooled designs (TerraPower's Natrium, X-energy's Xe-100, Kairos, Oklo) specify HALEU, while small light-water designs like the BWRX-300 use conventional LEU and inherit the existing supply chain. First cores are inventory purchases made before commercial operation, so procurement dates precede grid dates by years; our reactor tracker follows the project milestones that anchor those dates.
For the listed companies with HALEU exposure, see the fuel-cycle equities page. This guide deliberately stays off valuations: a supply-chain position is not a stock recommendation.
What would ease or worsen the constraint
Watch five things, each observable in public records:
- Centrus expansion milestones at Piketon: contracted capacity additions turning into commissioned centrifuge cascades (first new capacity expected 2029).
- General Matter construction: site works began February 2026; an NRC license application and construction progress would substantiate the pre-2030 target, which is currently a company statement, not a regulator's.
- Deconversion throughput: task orders under the October 2024 contracts turning into published output.
- Fabrication qualification: TRISO-X moving from license (February 2026) through construction and commissioning to delivered fuel; the license alone authorizes activities, it does not produce pebbles.
- Policy continuity: the awards are milestone-paid over a decade and appropriations-dependent; the policy ledger tracks changes.
The bear case for the constraint easing is government stockpile downblending scaling faster than expected; the bull case for a prolonged squeeze is any single stage (deconversion, fabrication, transport packages) lagging the enrichment build-out, because the chain only moves at the speed of its slowest link.
Frequently asked questions
What is HALEU? High-assay low-enriched uranium: uranium enriched to more than 5% and less than 20% U-235, per the NRC's definition. Most advanced reactor designs specify it because higher assay allows smaller cores and longer refueling intervals.
Who produces HALEU today? As of September 2026, Centrus is the only US company with demonstrated commercial-scale production, just over 1,900 kg cumulative from its Piketon demonstration cascade through June 2026. DOE also downblends government high-enriched uranium into HALEU under its Availability Program. Russia's TENEX has long produced HALEU but is excluded from the US market by import law.
How much HALEU does an advanced reactor need? It is design-specific and ranges from hundreds of kilograms for a microreactor core to tonnes for a large fast reactor's first load. Public totals are scarce and design-revision-dependent, which is why this guide tracks supply in delivered kilograms rather than quoting per-reactor figures the developers have not put in filings.
Is a DOE award the same as HALEU capacity? No. The January 2026 task orders pay out against milestones over ten years. Between an award and deliverable fuel sit plant construction, NRC licensing, deconversion, fabrication and certified transport, each a separate gate with its own timeline.
What is the difference between HALEU and LEU+? LEU+ is roughly 5–10% enrichment used to push higher burnup in existing light-water reactors, and some current facilities are licensed near its lower bound (Urenco USA to 5.5%). HALEU spans above 5% to below 20% and mostly serves new reactor designs with different fuel forms.
This article is for informational purposes only, not investment advice.