WASHINGTON, D.C. – Desires of building new nuclear reactors at scale are anchored in a strong supply chain, with a key focus on uranium enrichment, a panel of nuclear experts told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday.
During the hearing by the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate and Nuclear Innovation and Safety, Adam Stein, director of nuclear energy innovation at Breakthrough Institute, said that nuclear development depends on a strong fuel supply chain and reduced reliance on foreign fuels.
In moving away from Russian uranium by 2028, Stein said that the United States would need to increase its enrichment production by two to five times or 70 million to 150 million separative work units.
“That is a significant increase compared to the status quo and will require streamlining and logical expansion of environmental reviews,” Stein said in his opening statement.
Panelists Stein, C3 Solutions President Nick Loris and Clean Air Task Force Group Leader for Fusion, Safety and Regulation Patrick White said the three bills presented at the hearing have the capability of addressing the implementation concerns.
The Senate panel examined the Build Nuclear with Local Materials Act and discussed drafts of the Enrichment Licensing Modernization Act and the Revitalizing Energy Communities by Hosting Advanced Reactors and Generating Energy Act of 2026 or RECHARGE Act in the hearing.
When questioned by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) on the missing link to the nuclear fuel supply, Stein told the lawmaker that there are multiple ones. He said a clear, streamlined process for licensing nuclear fuel, uranium conversion and enrichment facilities, and the cost of uranium prices in the United States display issues for the domestic supply chain.
White told Lummis an immediate step that the country can take to increase its uranium enrichment capabilities is to create market conditions needed for companies to make a large investment in enrichment. White added that Congress’s ban on Russian uranium was a good step in pushing U.S. companies to produce more enriched uranium, such as high-assay low-enriched uranium – or HALEU – and creates a strong demand signal.