Standard Nuclear selected to build TRISO fuel line for advanced reactors.

Just weeks after launching a federal pilot to reestablish domestic fuel infrastructure for advanced reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected Standard Nuclear Inc. as the first participant – advancing broader efforts to rebuild America's nuclear fuel cycle and support next-generation reactor deployment.

After years of supply chain attrition and growing urgency to field next-generation reactors, the United States has begun laying the groundwork for a domestic nuclear revival – launching pilot programs to test new designs, unlocking federal uranium stockpiles, and clearing regulatory space for private industry to build the fuel infrastructure these systems will require.

With global enrichment dominated by foreign suppliers and advanced fuels like TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) or HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium) in rising demand, the challenge of restoring a full-cycle nuclear ecosystem has emerged as a central hurdle to America's clean energy and defense ambitions.

In response, DOE has selected a newly launched firm based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee – long known as America's "Atomic City" – where Standard Nuclear operates a fully permitted TRISO production facility on the former K-25 site, once home to the world's largest uranium enrichment plant built during the Manhattan Project.

Founded in 2024, Standard Nuclear maintains a 36.8-acre campus that includes 19,000 square feet of radiological infrastructure dedicated to advanced fuel fabrication.

As the only independent U.S. supplier of tri-structural isotropic fuel, the company serves commercial and government customers across the energy, defense, and space sectors, with early contracts already secured and additional offtake agreements under negotiation.

With its selection under the fuel line pilot, Standard Nuclear has now become the first U.S. company conditionally approved to develop advanced fuel fabrication capacity – an early step toward building the infrastructure needed to support next-generation reactor testing and deployment.

"[T]he Energy Department is moving at a rapid pace to unleash innovation and maintain American leadership in nuclear energy development," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. "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 private sector innovation with DOE expertise to assure stronger U.S. nuclear supply lines."

Under the terms of the pilot, Standard Nuclear will cover all costs tied to construction, operation, and decommissioning of its advanced fuel fabrication facility.

While the program supports the development of domestic production capacity, the responsibility for sourcing enriched uranium feedstock will remain with reactor developers, who may access material through the Department's HALEU allocation program.

Fabrication under this pilot will focus on TRISO – a robust, particle-based form of HALEU that has become central to many advanced reactor designs currently advancing toward demonstration.