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HALEU supply plans detailed in DOE draft solicitations and scoping notice

HALEU supply plans detailed in DOE draft

Statement of need: The DOE estimates that more than 40 metric tons of HALEU could be needed by the end of the decade, with additional HALEU required each year to fuel a fleet of advanced reactors.

“We must jump-start a commercial-scale, domestic supply chain for HALEU,” said Kathryn Huff, assistant secretary for nuclear energy. “Acquiring these services in the United States will reduce reliance on Russia, create American jobs, and support U.S. climate and energy security goals.”

The HALEU Availability Program was authorized by the Energy Act of 2020 to ensure HALEU will be available to support civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided $700 million for the program. From those funds, $500 million is earmarked to help establish a sustainable commercial supply chain for HALEU. The program will prioritize environmental justice issues and “be responsive to President Biden's Justice40 Initiative,” according to the DOE.

The DOE’s notice of intent provides more information and explains that “initial sources of uranium to meet the requirements of the [program] could be existing DOE stockpiles of highly enriched uranium (HEU) that would be processed or downblended into HALEU.” Those activities are both outside of the proposed action and already “covered by separate existing or pending NEPA documentation.”

The private-sector HALEU supply chain that the draft RFPs are designed to build would help ensure that HALEU is available once DOE HEU stockpiles are depleted. As stated in the notice of intent, “As DOE stockpiles are depleted, production would need to be supplemented by or transition to commercially operated facilities. To accelerate development of a sustainable commercial HALEU supply capability, an initial public/private partnership is recommended to address the high-fidelity (high-confidence demand) HALEU market (e.g., fuel for demonstration reactors) plus a percentage of the projected commercial demand for power reactors.”

Divide and conquer: There are several steps along the way from mined uranium to reactor-ready HALEU fuel, and the RFPs split those front-end activities into two parts, loosely labeled enrichment and deconversion. The enrichment RFP includes mining and milling, conversion, enrichment (which may be performed at two separate locations), and storage of UF6. The deconversion RFP includes transportation of enriched UF6, deconversion to oxide and metal, and storage. Under both RFPs, the DOE may award one or multiple contracts.