Actinide Becomes First Startup to Produce High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)

First Startup to Produce HALEU

Actinide, a Dallas-based advanced materials company, has announced it is the first startup to successfully produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The enrichment was carried out using the company's first-generation calutron, which previously produced enriched ytterbium-176 for Oklo Isotopes.

Addressing a Domestic Supply Chain Gap

The production of HALEU by Actinide addresses a significant gap in the domestic supply chain for advanced nuclear reactor fuel. The Department of Energy has stated that most advanced reactor designs require HALEU, but there is currently no domestic commercial supply. Existing conventional centrifuge enrichment produces uranium hexafluoride gas, which then requires conversion into solid form, a process for which the U.S. has no commercial capacity. Actinide's technology directly produces solid HALEU, bypassing this bottleneck.

Enrichment Details and Regulatory Context

The HALEU was produced in research quantities under the laboratory-scale exclusion in NRC regulations. U.S. law defines HALEU as uranium containing more than 5 percent but less than 20 percent uranium-235. An independent ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory confirmed the produced material was enriched to 15.38%. This material would still require fabrication into rods, pellets, or particles for reactor use.

Technology Advantages

Robert Mendelsohn, co-founder and CTO of Actinide, highlighted the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of their technology. He noted that their machines cost a few hundred thousand dollars, can produce material within months, are deployable anywhere, and can be reconfigured in days to separate various isotopes, contrasting this with centrifuge plants that cost billions and take years to establish.