The four links in the HALEU chain
- Enrichment — turning natural/converted uranium into UF6 enriched to 5–20% U-235. This is the bottleneck link.
- Deconversion — converting enriched UF6 into oxide or metal forms suitable for fuel fabrication.
- Fuel fabrication — manufacturing TRISO particles, metal fuel or other advanced fuels (e.g., X-energy’s TRISO-X, TerraPower’s metallic HALEU fuel).
- Fuel supply / offtake — long-term agreements that give reactor developers fuel security and give producers demand certainty.
Every link matters, but enrichment is where the industry is stuck: no commercial U.S. source existed until the DOE-backed Centrus cascade proved the technology.
Milestone tracker
| Date | Milestone | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | DOE awards Centrus HALEU demonstration contract (Piketon, OH) | First U.S. HALEU production capability since enrichment industry decline |
| 2022 | DOE selects Centrus for three-phase follow-on production contract | Path from license/construction to producing HALEU for DOE |
| 2025-06 | Centrus hits 900 kg HALEU production target | Demonstration contract milestone |
| 2026-01-05 | DOE announces ACO selected for $900M task order | Under the $2.7B domestic enrichment program |
| 2026-02 | TRISO-X fuel fabrication campus NRC-licensed (Oak Ridge, TN) | First commercial U.S. advanced fuel fabrication facility |
| 2026-06-30 | Centrus signs final $900M DOE contract (up to $1.07B with options) | Transition from demonstration to commercial operation |
| 2026-08-06 | Centrus × X-energy sign LEU/HALEU supply agreement | Covers initial fuel needs of 11.5 GW Xe-100 pipeline |
| ~2029 | First new commercial-scale enrichment capacity expected online | Target: at least some HALEU production by end of decade |
| 2030+ | Centrus targets ~12 MT HALEU per year | Commercial-scale domestic supply |
Sources: Centrus SEC filing · Power Magazine · USNIC · X-energy
Who are the producers?
- Centrus Energy (NYSE: LEU) — via subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating (ACO), operating the sole NRC-licensed HALEU cascade in the U.S. at Piketon, Ohio. Produced 1,900+ kg of HALEU UF6 under the demonstration contract, completed mid-June 2026 two weeks ahead of schedule. Source: Power Magazine
- General Matter — DOE awardee for HALEU production under the $2.7B program (second HALEU producer alongside ACO). Source: ANS News
- TRISO-X (X-energy subsidiary) — first NRC-licensed commercial TRISO fuel fabrication facility, Oak Ridge, Tennessee; fabricates TRISO-X coated particle fuel using HALEU from Centrus. Source: X-energy
Chicken-and-egg solved by contracts. Prepayments and government funding are untangling the classic dilemma: reactor developers need to know fuel will exist; fuel producers need demand certainty before investing billions. The Centrus×X-energy deal and DOE task orders are the mechanism.
Who are the buyers?
Every major advanced reactor developer is a buyer or future buyer:
- X-energy — 11.5 GW Xe-100 pipeline; first project with Dow (Seadrift, TX); secured initial HALEU through DOE’s HALEU Availability Program; signed definitive agreement with Centrus (Aug 2026). Source: X-energy
- Oklo — Aurora Powerhouse deployments in Southern Ohio; LOI with Centrus for fuel. Source: Oklo
- TerraPower — Natrium (sodium fast reactor) in Kemmerer, WY; HALEU metal fuel; depends on domestic supply. Source: EdWealth
- NuScale, Kairos and others — advanced designs that either require HALEU or are evaluating it. Source: EdWealth
What to watch next
- DOE task order execution and the ACO/General Matter build-out timelines.
- Whether the second and third enrichment players close financing.
- Long-term PPA/offtake deals converting the 11.5 GW X-energy pipeline into firm fuel orders.
- Deconversion capacity: UF6 to oxide/metal is a separate bottleneck few are tracking.
For investors, the purest HALEU exposure remains Centrus (LEU). For data center power teams, HALEU availability is a key date for when SMR fleets can actually load fuel. Track the latest intel on the homepage tracker.
Sources: Centrus SEC filing · Power Magazine · USNIC · X-energy · World Nuclear News