America’s Nuclear Energy Glow-Up Is Stuck at the Fuel Pump

Welcome back, this week we are diving deep into the uranium enrichment bottleneck. The U.S. is itching to flex its nuclear muscle.

But let’s cut the confetti: the real roadblock isn’t shiny new power plants. It’s uranium enrichment, the unsung hero that makes reactors hum.

Without enough homegrown fuel, we’re just a kid with a Ferrari and an empty gas tank. Buckle up as we dive into the global enrichment mess, the SMR revolution, and two badass companies—General Matter and NANO Nuclear Energy—ready to kick America’s nuclear game into overdrive.

Global Enrichment: Russia’s Got Us by the Fuel Rods

The U.S. nuclear dream is on life support, and Russia’s holding the IV drip. With a stranglehold on 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity, Moscow’s Rosatom is the world’s fuel dealer, supplying roughly 20% of the enriched uranium for American reactors.

France’s Orano and China’s CNNC are strutting their stuff too, but the U.S.? We’re limping along with Centrus Energy’s Piketon, Ohio plant, which coughs up less than 20% of our needs.

The 2024 Russian uranium ban (with loopholes until 2028) lit a fire under the DOE, which is tossing $2.7 billion at Centrus, Orano, Urenco USA, and General Matter to juice up domestic supply.

Problem is, scaling this beast takes 5-8 years, and Orano’s whining about needing guaranteed contracts to even start. Meanwhile, we’re stuck begging for scraps in a world where HALEU is rarer than a polite X thread.

SMRs: Tech Titans Want Nuclear, but Where’s the Juice?

Enter Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Hyperscalers.

The pint-sized powerhouses and Magnificent 7, promising to save the planet and keep AI data centers from melting the grid.

Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are throwing stacks of cash at SMRs to hit their carbon-neutral PR goals while powering the doubling of U.S. electricity demand by 2030 (thanks, AI).

• Microsoft’s rebooting of Three Mile Island with Constellation Energy
• Amazon is cozying up to X-energy
• Google’s sniffing around for its nuclear fix

But here’s the buzzkill: SMRs need High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), enriched to 5-20% U-235, not the wimpy 3-5% for old-school reactors. Guess who’s got the only commercial HALEU supply? Yep, Russia.

• The World Nuclear Association says 75% of SMR designs are HALEU-dependent, but the U.S. is stuck at square one.

• The DOE’s HALEU Availability Program is funneling $148 million to X-energy for a TRISO fuel facility and propping up Centrus’s Piketon plant, but we’re still years from self-sufficiency.

• TerraPower’s Natrium reactor just got pushed to 2030 because HALEU’s rarer than a verified X account with no agenda.

With SMRs needing refueling every 5-7 years (per the IAEA), the U.S. better get its fuel game together…

Winner #1: General Matter—Nolan’s Fuel Rebellion

General Matter, founded by ex-SpaceX brainiac Scott Nolan, is America’s middle finger to Russia’s enrichment monopoly. After hunting for a U.S. HALEU producer and finding zilch, Nolan built his own, aiming to churn out fuel by decade’s end with Silicon Valley hustle.

• Snagged a DOE contract in October 2024 from the $2.7 billion HALEU fund, rubbing shoulders with Centrus and Orano.
• Tech Tease: Likely using centrifuges, maybe flirting with laser enrichment—Nolan’s keeping it coy but promising cheaper HALEU.
• Big Backers: Founders Fund (Peter Thiel’s crew) is bankrolling the mission to make Russia’s fuel empire obsolete.

Winner #2: NANO Nuclear Energy—Yu’s SMR Swagger

NANO Nuclear Energy, led by bold visionary Jay Yu, is surfing the SMR wave with microreactors and HALEU ambitions. From powering data centers to building a fuel supply chain, NANO’s all-in on America’s nuclear future.

• Microreactor Mojo: Developing ZEUS and ODIN, 1-20 megawatt reactors for remote sites, using safe TRISO fuel.
• Fuel Hustle: Tackling HALEU fabrication and transport to fix the shortage screwing over SMRs.
• Cash Flow: In just over seven months as a public company, they grew their cash pile to over $120 million. Ready for growth.

America’s nuclear glow-up is stuck in neutral while Russia, France, and China hog the fuel pump.

General Matter and NANO Nuclear Energy are our scrappy saviors, bringing tech-bro energy and SMR swagger to the fight. With Microsoft, Amazon, and the DOE throwing cash at the problem, the future’s bright—if we can stop running on empty.