US picks first company for making next-gen nuclear fuel to cut Russia dependence
US-based Standard Nuclear has been chosen as the first company by the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a domestic nuclear fuel supply chain for testing new reactors.
The move is aimed at strengthening domestic supply chains for nuclear, under the DOE’s fuel line pilot program, which was announced in July 2025.
The program aims to end the United States’ reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials. It also opens the door for private sector investment in America’s nuclear renaissance.
The US is trying to cut down its reliance on Russia for uranium and pushing for enhancement of its own nuclear fuel fabrication facilities.
The initiative builds on President Donald Trump’s executive order ‘Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactors for National Security.’ Standard Nuclear’s conditional selection makes it the first pilot project in the US under the new program.
“Advanced nuclear reactors will be a game-changer for the United States, and with that comes the need to fabricate the fuel for these reactors. The Department of Energy is partnering with private sector innovation with DOE expertise to assure stronger US nuclear supply lines,” said US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
Nuclear fuel for advanced reactors
Oak Ridge, Tennessee-based Standard Nuclear is the first selection under the DOE’s new pilot program. It will leverage the Department’s authorization process to ensure a robust supply of nuclear fuel in both Tennessee and Idaho.
Many advanced reactor developers in the US are getting ready to test their designs that utilize TRISO fuel.
As per the program, Standard Nuclear will be responsible for all costs associated with the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the facility.
The reactor project developers will manage the sourcing of nuclear material feedstock for fuel fabrication, which could be acquired through DOE’s high-assay low-enriched uranium allocation program.
The program also supports DOE’s new reactor pilot program that aims to have at least three advanced reactor designs achieve criticality by July 4, 2026.
TRISO and advanced SMRs
TRi-structural ISOtropic particle fuel, or TRISO, is made up of a uranium, carbon, and oxygen fuel kernel. The kernel is encapsulated by three layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive fission products.
TRISO particles are incredibly tiny, almost the size of a small seed, and are very robust.
They can be molded into the shape of a cylindrical pellet or billiard ball-sized spheres called “pebbles” for use in either high-temperature gas or molten salt-cooled reactors.
As compared to traditional reactor fuel, TRISO is considered to be structurally more resilient to neutron irradiation, corrosion, oxidation and high temperatures. This makes it deliver a better performance than its traditional counterparts.
Moreover, each TRISO particle acts as its own containment system, which allows it to retain fission products under all reactor conditions.
Earlier this year, BWX Technologies completed a new Uranium Nitride TRISO fuel production line at its Technology Centre in Lynchburg.
Installing a chemical vapor infiltration furnace was the final step required to make the line operational. The facility can produce additively manufactured fuel for Generation IV (Gen−IV) reactors.
BWXT worked with Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to test and qualify this different form of TRISO fuel.
The project is part of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which supports the development of BWXT’s BANR high-temperature gas microreactor design.