Reno, Nev. – September 14, 2026 -- The U.S. Department of Energy awarded approximately US$2.7 billion in contracts in January 2026 to expand domestic low-enriched and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) capacity, cementing the federal government's role as the sector's largest customer, lender and permitting authority in one move.
Federal agencies now control nearly every stage of the U.S. uranium fuel cycle
Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia supply close to 75% of global uranium mine output, with Kazakhstan alone accounting for roughly 39% of world supply in 2024, according to the World Nuclear Association. Russian enrichment services previously covered a substantial share of U.S. requirements before the 2024 import ban, leaving domestic policy as the fastest available lever to secure fuel supply. DataM Intelligence puts the global uranium market at approximately US$9.73 billion in 2025, rising to roughly US$13.59 billion by 2033, while Mordor Intelligence sizes the enrichment market at about US$14.24 billion in 2025, growing to US$22.16 billion by 2030.
Eagle Nuclear Energy hires LSN Partners and taps former Azarga CEO Blake Steele
Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: NUCL) said on September 9, 2026 it engaged LSN Partners for government affairs, strategic advisory and stakeholder engagement covering domestic uranium production, critical minerals policy, permitting and federal funding opportunities, with outreach extending to federal agencies and to Oregon and Nevada state governments. The company also appointed Blake Steele, former President and CEO of Azarga Uranium Corp., as an advisor on uranium strategy; Steele previously led Azarga's U.S. uranium portfolio through its 2022 acquisition by enCore Energy Corp. Eagle's flagship Aurora Uranium Project, straddling the Oregon-Nevada border, carries 32.75 million pounds Indicated and 4.98 million pounds Inferred of near-surface uranium resource under S-K 1300, per a Technical Report Summary completed by BBA USA Inc. in August 2025, with a Pre-Feasibility Study targeted for late 2027. The company has no mineral reserve, no production and no revenue.
Uranium Energy Corp's idle capacity exposes the regulatory bottleneck
Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC) controls approximately 12 million pounds per year of licensed in-situ recovery capacity across Wyoming and South Texas. On April 8, 2026, the company received Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approval and began production at Burke Hollow, described as the first new U.S. ISR operation in over a decade. Third-quarter fiscal 2026 filings reported approximately US$794 million of liquid assets and no debt. Earlier in the year, management said expanded ISR capacity was awaiting final regulatory approvals, calling the delays "regulatory growing pains" at a level unseen in the U.S. sector in over fifteen years.
Centrus Energy remains the sole licensed HALEU producer under DOE contract
Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE: LEU) operates the only Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed HALEU production facility in the United States, at Piketon, Ohio, and has produced HALEU for the Department of Energy under contract since 2023, placing it directly inside the federal procurement structure that now defines the fuel cycle's economics.