Centrus Energy and Radiant Nuclear agreed to a long-term deal where Centrus will provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for Radiant’s incoming fuel needs following its Janus program selection.
The Army’s Janus program awarded Radiant with $750 million to construct its Kaleidos microreactor at Fort Benning in Georgia and develop 15 microreactors across several military installations. Centrus said in its Wednesday press release that under this deal, it will begin to supply HALEU prior to 2030. The contract amount was not provided in the release.
Within the agreement, Radiant will provide prepayments to Centrus to help the company’s domestic commercial enrichment program. Centrus is currently in the process of expanding both its enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio and its manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
As for the El Segundo, Calif.-based microreactor developer, this deal marks an additional nuclear fuel agreement the company has made as it ramps up towards commercialization and military deployment. In late August, Radiant entered into a long-term contract with Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear to receive tri-structural isotropic — or TRISO fuel — from the fuel fabricating company.
“This agreement gives Kaleidos a continued source of HALEU for commercial and national security applications and removes one of the biggest constraints facing advanced nuclear deployment,” Radiant Chief Nuclear Officer Rita Baranwal said in the release. “We’re securing the fuel supply chain alongside the reactor so that when Kaleidos is ready to deploy at scale, the infrastructure behind it is ready too.”
Radiant has designed the Kaleidos microreactor to be a one-megawatt, TRISO-fueled, gas-cooled transportable reactor. While the company has plans to use its reactor to power data centers and other industrial uses, it is on a timeline to have its reactor design deployed at a military base by 2028.
In addition to the Janus program selection, Radiant was also selected by the Department of the Air Force and the Defense Innovation Unit to develop a microreactor at the Air Force’s Buckley Space Force Base.