The US Department of Energy (DOE) office of Nuclear Energy announced a new initiative on 23 April, focused on securing the US’s nuclear fuel supply chain through the Defense Production Act Nuclear Fuel Cycle Consortium.
The consortium will focus on collaborating with the US domestic nuclear industry to ensure that the country has enough nuclear fuel to power its current nuclear reactor fleet as well as future reactors.
The consortium comprises industry representatives from more than 90 companies from across the nuclear industrial economy and will focus on milling, conversion, enrichment, deconversion, fabrication, recycling, and reprocessing.
Titled “Nuclear Dominance — 3 by 33”, the campaign has three key goals, including to catalyse a secure and cost-competitive domestic nuclear fuel supply chain by 2033. The consortium also aims to accelerate reactor deployment, close the fuel cycle, and develop a displacements per atom (DPA) framework to grow and align the industry to support this nuclear build-out in the country.
Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish says that the consortium’s work comes at a “pivotal time” for the nuclear industry in the US.
“I’m pleased with the dedication of the committee and am looking forward to rapid progress on near-term goals to achieve American-made supply of nuclear fuel.”
The DOE anticipates the need for secure and reliable energy in the US to rise, driven by the growth in domestic manufacturing and the growing needs for energy stemming from data centres and artificial intelligence.
This consortium itself was created in August 2025 following an executive order by US President Donald Trump on ‘Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base’.
According to the World Nuclear Association, the US is currently the world’s largest producer of nuclear power, accounting for around 30% of global nuclear generation.
Nuclear generation in the US in 2024 topped 816 terawatt hours, accounting for 18% of total electrical output.
The US currently has targets in place to quadruple US nuclear capacity by 2025 and to deploy advanced reactors in the near term, as outlined by the Trump administration in 2025.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash
