US awards contracts to process HALEU fuel for high-tech reactors

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. has awarded six companies contracts to help process a special uranium fuel meant for a new generation of reactors that could be built in coming years, the Energy Department said on Tuesday.

Russia is currently the only country that makes the high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, or HALEU, in commercial volumes.

The companies that won the contracts and aim to de-convert HALEU are Centrus , the U.S. division of France's state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano, GE Vernova , BWXT

, French firm Framatome, and Westinghouse.

Deconversion turns gaseous uranium into oxide or metal forms to be made into fuel for reactors. HALEU is uranium enriched to between 5% and 20%, which backers say has the potential to make new high-tech reactors more efficient.

Uranium fuel used in today's reactors is enriched to about 5%.

The administration of President Joe Biden believes nuclear power, which generates virtually emissions-free electricity, is critical in fighting climate change and to meet rising power demand from artificial intelligence and other consumers.

"Boosting our domestic uranium supply won’t just advance President Biden’s historic climate agenda, but also increase America’s energy security, create good-paying union jobs, and strengthen our economic competitiveness," Ali Zaidi, the national climate adviser, said in a statement.

All contracts will last for up to 10 years. Each company will get a minimum contract of $2 million, with up to $800 million available for the services, subject to the availability of appropriations, the Energy Department said.

Critics of HALEU, which has a higher fissile content, say it is a weapons risk if it gets into the wrong hands and recommend limiting its enrichment to between 10% and 12% for safety.

"This award is a critical piece of the puzzle in building an advanced nuclear fuel supply chain to support the next generation of reactors," said Amir Vexler, president and CEO of Centrus, which plans to make commercial amounts of HALEU at a plant in Ohio.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Sonali Paul)

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