Centrus and Radiant Partner for HALEU Fuel

Centrus Energy and Radiant have signed a multi-year contract for the supply of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel to support deployment of Radiant's Kaleidos microreactors. Centrus will begin deliveries before the end of the decade. The agreement includes prepayments from Radiant to Centrus to fund expansion of domestic enrichment capacity. Radiant is moving from test phases toward commercial and national-security deployment of the microreactors, which use TRISO fuel.

Where this fits

This contract addresses a critical gap in the firm-power case for nuclear. A renewables-only grid requires not only panels and batteries, which are China-supplied at scale, but also gas backing and massive transmission build. A nuclear fleet, by contrast, depends on fuel enrichment and fabrication. Centrus is securing a domestic HALEU supply chain, which removes a dependency risk that has constrained advanced reactor deployment. This is sovereignty in energy, not an accident: it underpins the materials and supply-chain argument for firm power.

What it means

Australia has no domestic uranium enrichment and no HALEU production. A microreactor fleet or advanced reactor program here would depend entirely on imported fuel or new trade agreements with enrichment nations. Meanwhile, the renewable transition locks in dependence on China for panels, batteries, and inverters with no domestic alternative. Centrus's move to domestic enrichment shows what sovereignty looks like. Australia's ban on nuclear means it is building a grid dependent on weather, firming gas, and a supply chain owned by Beijing.