Rep. Fleischmann Questions Energy Secretary Wright on Nuclear Fuel and Reprocessing

Accelerating Domestic HALO Production

• 💡 High Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALO) is crucial for US leadership in advanced reactor technologies.
• 🎯 Congress allocated $2.7 billion in FY24 to boost domestic HALO production, but the department has been slow to act.
• 🔑 The administration has allocated existing HALO material from DOE stockpiles to five companies for near-term fuel needs of next-generation reactors.
• 🚀 The department is evaluating requests for interest in low-enriched uranium production and will soon solicit proposals for HALO to deploy allocated funds.

Reducing Uranium Import Dependence

• ⚠️ Currently, less than a third of enriched uranium powering US reactors is produced by American companies; two-thirds are imported.
• 📈 This dependence is unacceptable and hinders the growth of the nuclear renaissance.
• 🛠️ The department is committed to deploying funds to grow uranium enrichment capacity on US soil.

Advancing Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

• 📌 Over 91,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel are stored at US plant sites, representing a growing liability.
• 💡 The US originally developed reprocessing technology during WWII and operated large facilities until the Carter administration.
• 💰 Reprocessing spent fuel could turn a current liability into a valuable resource for next-generation reactors.
• 🔬 The DOE is preparing a study on the appropriate path forward for reprocessing, aiming to ensure long-term domestic commercial viability.