New nuclear tech targets 5.9 tons of HALEU fuel per year from 1,200-sq-ft unit

Utah-headquartered physics company Nusano has been selected for a US Department of Energy program to advance a nuclear fuel production system designed to make 5.9 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, per year from a single 1,200-square-foot unit. The company said its production line uses metallic uranium instead of the fluorinated uranium gas used in conventional enrichment routes. It is designed to enrich uranium in a single pass and produce the fuel in metallic form. The project was selected by the National Reactor Innovation Center and DOE under the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Program, which is intended to move emerging nuclear technologies closer to commercial deployment. The compact design could allow Nusano to add production units incrementally as demand grows. The company expects its first unit to be operational in 2031. HALEU contains between 5 percent and 20 percent uranium-235 and is expected to play an important role in several advanced reactor designs. It can allow reactors to operate longer between refueling and extract more energy from a smaller amount of fuel. That makes the availability of HALEU an important issue for the planned deployment of small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear systems. The DOE estimates that US demand for HALEU could reach 50 metric tons of uranium per year by 2035. Current domestic production is below 1 metric ton annually, highlighting the gap between potential demand and existing supply. Nusano’s approach aims to address part of that gap by changing the form of the uranium entering the enrichment process. Conventional enrichment largely relies on uranium hexafluoride, or UF6, which is a gas that can be processed through centrifuges. Nusano instead starts with uranium metal and uses proprietary separation techniques to separate uranium isotopes by mass. For HALEU production, the process separates uranium-235 from uranium-238 and delivers the enriched material as a metal. The company says this eliminates several conversion steps associated with conventional gas-based production, including UF6 conversion, deconversion, and metallization. Single pass targets scale Nusano says its system can take natural uranium to 19.75% enrichment in a single pass. That is significant because HALEU must remain below 20% uranium-235 enrichment while containing substantially more uranium-235 than conventional reactor fuel. The company also says its direct-metal pathway eliminates hazardous fluorine chemistry used in the conventional UF6 route. Its proposed units can therefore be deployed in a modular configuration instead of requiring a single large production facility. “Selection for Launch Pad signals Nusano’s HALEU technology and team are ready to move forward,” said Keith Titus, CEO of Nusano. “The review process considered each project’s technical merit, operational readiness, and alignment with national strategic priorities. We’re proud to be included and grateful for the opportunity to advance work to support America’s energy independence.” The Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program will give Nusano access to DOE authorization processes, national laboratory expertise, infrastructure, and technical resources as it works toward deployment. If the first unit reaches operation as planned in 2031, the company expects the 5.9-metric-ton annual capacity to provide a modular starting point for expanding domestic HALEU production. The announcement does not represent commercial-scale production yet, but it puts Nusano’s direct-metallization approach into a federal program focused on accelerating advanced nuclear technologies. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.With over a decade-long career in journalism, Neetika Walter has worked with The Economic Times, ANI, and Hindustan Times, covering politics, business, technology, and the clean energy sector. Passionate about contemporary culture, books, poetry, and storytelling, she brings depth and insight to her writing. When she isn’t chasing stories, she’s likely lost in a book or enjoying the company of her dogs.