How enrichment changes isotopes

Even as momentum grows for U.S. nuclear, the fuel supply chain is often overlooked. This dynamic is shifting as the industry wakes up to critical choke points and a heavy reliance on countries like Russia for enrichment. As America aims to reduce geopolitical dependency in energy, fixing these domestic gaps has become a strategic priority.

In this episode — a companion to a separate episode of Catalyst focused on nuclear waste — Shayle Kann speaks with Scott Nolan, the CEO of General Matter. The company is focused on enrichment, one of the most acute risk areas in the supply chain. Shayle and Scott also discuss the big-picture state of nuclear fuel, from mining to advanced reactor requirements.

The two cover topics like:

• The five-step nuclear fuel supply chain
• America’s continued reliance on Russian enrichment:
• The history of enrichment decline in the US
• The "chicken or egg" problem for advanced reactors
• Distinctions between LEU and HALEU fuel
• Enrichment’s toll-service business model
• The strategic importance of General Matter’s enrichment facility in Paducah, Kentucky

• Catalyst: The state and future of nuclear waste
• Catalyst: The path to market for new nuclear reactors
• Catalyst: The US nuclear groundswell
• Open Circuit: Inside Meta’s massive nuclear push
• Open Circuit: Fear and loathing at the Department of Energy
• Latitude Media: What TerraPower’s big milestone says about future nuclear projects
• Latitude Media: Commonwealth Fusion Systems launches digital twin with Nvidia and Siemens

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

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