The nuclear renaissance requires a fuel chain that can support the ambitions of the reactor development companies. The simplest example is a car and its gas station. There could be dozens of companies designing advanced new vehicles with fancy features and higher safety ratings. But if all these vehicle developers forget to build new gas stations as well, then their new and improved designs may be useless. In recent weeks, the nuclear fuel chain has shown signs of finally finding its footing.
Key Takeaways
- Two advanced reactor developers signed long-term supply agreements for advanced nuclear fuel fabrication services.
- Centrus Energy (LEU) secured multiple enrichment service supply agreements.
- Global enrichment companies made advancements to expand capacity, along with the U.S. government stepping in to provide additional support.
Standard Nuclear Brings Advanced Fuel Fabrication to Reactor Developers
Some of the advanced reactor designs currently in development require a more robust version of nuclear fuel referred to as tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel. TRISO’s significantly hardened design allows the fuel to operate at higher temperatures and perform better in accident scenarios.
Standard Nuclear (TDN) is one of the few companies in the world capable of producing TRISallowsO. The company recently signed new fuel fabrication services agreements with advanced reactor developers to enable them to deploy their reactor designs at scale.
Radian Nuclear, a gas-cooled reactor developer, signed an agreement with Standard for multiple metric tons of TRISO fuel through 2031. Antares Nuclear, a sodium heat-pipe reactor developer, followed suit by signing a fabrication services agreement with Standard through 2035.
The only other provider of TRISO in the U.S. is BWX Technologies (BWXT). The company first started fabricating the advanced fuel for the Department of Defense over a decade ago. BWXT supplied Antares Nuclear with the fuel they utilized to achieve criticality on a test reactor earlier this summer.
See more: Microreactors Reach Milestones & Retailers Go Nuclear
Uranium Enrichment Companies Are Enjoying Increased Attention
Enrichment is the next major upstream fuel chain stage before fuel fabrication. Enrichment companies use centrifuges to increase the concentration of U-235 isotopes in the uranium to the levels required by customers (reactor owners).
Most operating reactors worldwide use low-enriched uranium (LEU), which contains between 3% and 5% U-235. Some of the advanced reactors currently in development require a higher enrichment level, referred to as high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The U-235 can account for up to 20% of the uranium at this level.
Centrus Energy (LEU) is currently the only company in the U.S. producing HALEU. The company made headlines multiple times earlier this year, specifically with being awarded $900 million from the Department of Energy to support enrichment capacity expansion efforts.
See more: Powering On, Nuclear Stocks See Strong Start to 2026
The company has also made recent headlines as well, announcing partnerships with X-energy (XE) and Radiant Nuclear. X-energy and Radiant will fabricate the uranium into fuel for use in their advanced gas-cooled reactors.
Government & Additional Suppliers Broaden Nuclear Fuel Availability
Recognizing the current lack of commercial quantities of HALEU, the U.S. government has stepped in to bridge the supply gap. Multiple awards have been made over the recent months to ensure research and development can continue in the advanced nuclear industry. This summer, the Department of Energy awarded HALEU to NASA for use in their nuclear space propulsion program.
With Russia holding a significant share of the global enrichment industry, the leading international companies are also stepping up to expand capacity. Orano is making regulatory progress with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their planned facility in Tennessee. The new facility, named Project IKE, saw its license application accepted by the NRC this recent May.
Urenco announced a new and significant expansion effort at their enrichment facility in New Mexico. The company is looking to expand existing capacity by over 50%, which could cover as much as half of what is currently imported from Russia into the United States.
Balanced Exposure Across the Nuclear Value Chain
The VettaFi Nuclear Renaissance Index (NUKZX) serves as a balanced approach for gaining exposure to the nuclear fuel chain. Instead of being heavily weighted in uranium miners and a handful of non-fuel-chain nuclear companies, NUKZX allocates weight across reactor owners, reactor developers, fuel companies, and the supply chain.
Companies such as BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Centrus Energy (LEU) are constituents of NUKZX. More mature and established nuclear companies serve as a risk balance to some of the pre-revenue reactor developers in the index, such as Terrestrial Energy (IMSR). NUKZX serves as the underlying index for the Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ ).
Related Research:
Microreactors Reach Milestones & Retailers Go Nuclear
DOE’s $17.5B Loan Boosts Nuclear Supply Chain
Powering On, Nuclear Stocks See Strong Start to 2026
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