Higher-enriched uranium for datacenters has DoE all aglow
- ID
- 24856
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 16 Sep 2026, 1:39 AM
- Fetched
- 16 Sep 2026, 4:55 AM
- Provider
- The Register
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/09/15/higher-enriched-uranium-for-datacenters-has-doe-all-aglow/5296624
- Source URL
- https://www.theregister.com/headlines.atom
Summary
- Score
- 2.0
- Created
- 16 Sep 2026, 4:56 AM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_founders
What happened
The US DoE selected Utah-based Nusano for its Nuclear Energy LaunchPad Program to develop a new method for producing HALEU fuel (5-20% U-235) needed for next-gen reactors like SMRs. As of 2026, only one US company (Centrus) actively produces HALEU, having generated under two metric tons since 2019, and Nusano has not yet built a functional demonstration enrichment unit.
Why it matters
This is early-stage US nuclear fuel supply chain news with no immediate actionable takeaway for builders. Datacenter power constraints are real, but HALEU-powered SMRs won't affect your cloud bills or infrastructure decisions for years, if ever. Skip this for practical purposes.
Discussion angle
The gap between AI datacenter power demand narratives and the actual timeline of nuclear solutions — useful only as a reality check on how far out SMR-powered datacenters really are.