High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU)



More than 20 U.S. companies are developing advanced reactors that will completely change the way we think about the nuclear industry. Most of these new reactor designs will be smaller, more flexible, and less expensive to build and operate. Many of these designs will require a fuel that isn’t yet available at a commercial scale. 

It’s what the industry calls high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU for short, and these companies need it to bring their reactors to life. HALEU is enriched uranium between 5% and 20%. HALEU will also allow developers to optimize their systems for longer life cores, increased efficiencies, and better fuel utilization.

The Department of Energy in December 2022 plans to start a competition for a long-term contract to purchase energy-dense uranium fuel, with an eye toward awarding a deal in July 2023. DOE held an Industry Day on October 14. Attendees were asked how soon they could deliver 25 metric tons per year of HALEU enriched in the United States from newly mined uranium. Offtake contracts for six or more years of HALEU production at that rate could be used to stock a DOE-owned HALEU bank to “support [HALEU] availability for civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use.” 

A Sources Sought Notice released ahead of the meeting included preliminary details of a long-anticipated request for proposals, and responses received by October 28 will help the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) “determine the interest and feasibility of both large and small businesses to produce HALEU.” The DOE wants to see commercial HALEU enrichment facilities operating “as soon as possible,” backed by a sustainable U.S. uranium mining, conversion, storage, and transport infrastructure.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided $700 million for HALEU availability. Of that $700 million, about $500 million will be available for offtake agreements. Additional HALEU funding in fiscal year 2023 appropriations is uncertain, but at least two funding schemes have been proposed: A supplemental appropriation request sent to Congress by the White House on September 2 asks for $1.5 billion to support a reliable supply of both LEU and HALEU, and the Fueling Our Nuclear Future bill—introduced in the Senate in April by Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) and in the House in August by Reps. Elaine Luria (D., Va.) and Byron Donalds (R., Fla.)—would provide more support for domestic HALEU production while explicitly excluding uranium sourced or processed by any entity owned or controlled by the governments of Russia and China.

Intergovernmental Annual Meeting

The Office of Environmental Management supports, by means of grants and cooperative agreements, several institutionalized activities and relationships with various national intergovernmental organizations. These organizations include the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), the Environmental Council of States (ECOS), the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)’s Nuclear Legislative Working Group, and State and Tribal Governments Working Group (STGWG).

This year's Twenty-First Annual Intergovernmental Meeting will be November 30-December 3, 2022. Attendees will hear from expert speakers and DOE officials in presentations and discussions on topics such as the future of waste management, consent-based siting, addressing workforce issues, climate resiliency planning, protection of cultural and historical landscapes and emerging contaminants like Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), also known as the Forever Chemicals. Attendees will also participate in an interactive budget development exercise and a session for participants to share best practices from their sites

The agenda for the meeting can be found here.