The United States is on the brink of a potential 'second nuclear age,' driven by a surge in electricity demand and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. However, the nation’s nuclear fuel supply chain remains critically underdeveloped, raising alarms as Congress prepares to ban Russian uranium imports by 2028.
Nuclear startup Antares recently achieved a milestone by activating its Mark-0 microreactor in June, beating a Trump administration pilot program deadline. But with nearly 98% of uranium consumed by US reactors imported, the domestic supply chain—from mining to fuel pellet fabrication—is woefully inadequate to support the growing reliance on nuclear energy.
The Fuel Supply Gap
Currently, North America’s uranium supply chain is lagging behind reactor development. Canada-based Cameco, the region’s top uranium miner, warns that bringing new mines online could take 15 to 20 years—far longer than the time needed to build reactors. 'As demand is going up, we need to embrace long-lead items and apply that to uranium,' said Cameco president Grant Isaac. 'We’re just not able to explore, permit, construct, and commission mines in the timeframe that you build a reactor.'
'The demand that’s building for new reactors hasn’t found its way fully upstream to uranium,' Isaac added.
The Biden administration aims to quadruple US nuclear capacity by 2050, from 100 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts, enough to power nearly 300 million homes. Yet, without significant investment in uranium mining and refining, experts warn that uranium prices—and ultimately electricity costs—could skyrocket.
AI Boom Drives New Projects
Tech giants are signing contracts with nuclear developers for next-generation reactors, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors. Bill Gates-backed TerraPower recently broke ground on a new plant in Wyoming, while Kairos Power is constructing a commercial-scale demonstration plant in Tennessee. Shuttered facilities like Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island are also being revived to power data centers.
Despite this progress, hyperscalers and investors have yet to address the critical need for uranium mining and refining. 'It doesn’t matter what type of reactor; they all need nuclear fuel,' said Christo Liebenberg, co-founder of uranium enrichment startup LIS Technologies.
As the US races to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure, the lack of a robust domestic fuel supply chain threatens to undermine the nation’s energy ambitions and leave it vulnerable to global market disruptions.