Centrus, Antares sign HALEU deal for space reactors

(SpaceEnergy) Centrus Energy has signed a multi-year contract to supply Antares with US-produced high-assay low-enriched uranium for advanced reactors including systems intended for space missions.

Deliveries of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) are due to begin before the end of the decade. Antares will make prepayments under the contract to support expansion of Centrus's domestic enrichment capacity. The companies did not disclose the contract value or quantity of fuel covered.

Antares is developing compact fission microreactors for terrestrial and space applications and was recently selected for a US Space Force Strategic Breakthrough award to demonstrate a space reactor.

“Fuel supply is one of the practical questions every advanced reactor developer has to answer,” Antares co-founder and chief executive Jordan Bramble said. He said the agreement provides US-origin HALEU for reactors being developed for defence and space customers.

Centrus produces HALEU at its American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. Its US-origin AC100 centrifuge technology can provide “unobligated” enrichment, allowing the resulting material to be used for US national-security missions.

Centrus launched a multi-billion-dollar expansion last year covering commercial-scale HALEU and low-enriched uranium production.