{"id":87273,"date":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/10\/10\/the-us-makes-a-move-to-produce-high-assay-low-enriched-uranium\/"},"modified":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","slug":"the-us-makes-a-move-to-produce-high-assay-low-enriched-uranium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/10\/10\/the-us-makes-a-move-to-produce-high-assay-low-enriched-uranium\/","title":{"rendered":"The US makes a move to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium"},"content":{"rendered":"

The<\/strong> US makes moves for nuclear\u2019s next-gen tech: <\/strong>The US Energy Department awarded six companies with contracts to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is essential for next-gen reactors, Reuters<\/a> reports. Each company will be awarded a minimum of USD 2 mn, with up to USD 800 mn funding available in the future. <\/p>\n

Who won the contracts?<\/strong> The energy companies included are <\/span>Centrus<\/a>, the American division of France's state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano, <\/span>GE Vernova<\/a>, <\/span>BWXT<\/a>, the French <\/span>Framatome<\/a>, and <\/span>Westinghouse<\/a>. The companies will be converting uranium from gas forms to metal or oxide forms.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is HALEU? <\/strong>Unlike the 5%-enriched Uranium used in traditional nuclear reactors, HALEU is enriched to higher levels ranging between 5% and 20%. The new-generation fuel allows \u201csmaller designs that get more power per unit of volume,\u201d according<\/a> to the Office of Nuclear Energy in the Energy Department. However, safety concerns remain about its enrichment levels.<\/p>\n

Russia dominates HALEU: <\/strong>Russia is currently the sole commercial producer of HALEU, but the US banned Russian uranium imports<\/a> last summer, making the need to locally produce the advanced nuclear fuel more urgent for the US.<\/p>\n

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BYD still eyes EV manufacturing in India despite harsh China investment rules:<\/strong> Chinese automaker BYD is keen to manufacture EVs in India but has yet to receive any clear indication from New Delhi about easing stringent investment rules for Chinese businesses, Reuters<\/a> reports. The news comes after BYD, in partnership with India\u2019s Megha Engineering and Infrastructures<\/a>, submitted a USD 1 bn proposal to build the vehicles in India in July. The plan has faced delays due to increased scrutiny of Chinese investments following a 2020 border clash between the two nations, after which India required<\/p>\n

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