Centrus Energy Warns U.S. Nuclear Enrichment “From Zero,” Risking 2028 Fuel Shortage

Centrus Warns U.S. Enrichment Capacity Is Starting From Scratch

Centrus Energy is sounding the alarm that U.S. nuclear fuel enrichment is effectively “building from zero,” a warning industry leaders stress could squeeze reactor fuel supplies as early as 2028. Patrick Brown, senior vice president at Centrus, tells more than 400 attendees at the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s Advanced Reactors Summit in Seattle that less than 1% of the nuclear fuel consumed by the country’s 94 commercial reactors is produced domestically, and that the small U.S. output primarily serves Defense Department needs. He adds that commercial reactors are almost entirely reliant on imports from Canada and Kazakhstan, with up to 5% of supply currently coming from Russia.

Brown argues that restoring a robust U.S. enrichment sector is a national security imperative linked to the government's push to expand nuclear capacity. He frames the effort to revive enrichment as comparable in urgency to “a second Manhattan Project,” noting that policy signals — including executive orders directing the licensing of 10 new reactors by 2030 and an ambition to quadruple commercial nuclear output by 2050 — will drive rapid demand for domestically produced low-enriched uranium. Panelists at the summit caution, however, that global fuel markets are constrained and that revived U.S. capacity will probably lag demand into the early 2030s, creating a potential timing shortfall when non‑Russian suppliers cannot immediately replace even a small share now sourced from Russia.

Centrus and other industry representatives are therefore pressing for accelerated deployment of enrichment technologies and processing plants to meet near‑term needs. The company and peers emphasize that long lead times for centrifuge build-out and regulatory and licensing hurdles make the next several years critical if the United States is to avoid a supply squeeze as advanced reactors come online.

DOE Funding and Industry Race

The Department of Energy is responding with significant funding to jump‑start domestic enrichment, including a reported $2.7 billion award on Jan. 5 to three companies for centrifuge and processing plant projects. Industry participants say the awards and other federal support increase the likelihood of new U.S. capacity but stress that construction, testing and regulatory approvals still create a narrow window to prevent shortages.

Reliance on Foreign Mills Raises 2028 Risk

Panelists also point to existing foreign capacity such as Urenco’s Gronau plant and Urenco USA’s New Mexico facility as important pieces of the near‑term supply picture. With a 2023 Congressional ban on Russian nuclear imports taking effect Jan. 1, 2028, industry leaders warn that the loss of even a small Russian share could expose timing gaps unless U.S. enrichment development accelerates.