IRA Section 50173 – Increasing the Availability of High-Assay Low-enriched Uranium for Nuclear Energy Development

Section 50173 of the IRA appropriates $700 million to the DOE, to carry out the elements of a program to support the availability of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (“HA-LEU”), as provided in section 2001(a)(2) of the Energy Act of 2020, 42 U.S.C. § 16281 (a) (2), available through September 30, 2026.

The program elements provided in Section 2001(a)(2) of the Energy Act of 2020, include, but are not limited to, the development of criticality benchmark data to assist in the licensing and regulation of special nuclear material fuel fabrication and enrichment facilities; the research, development, and provision of financial assistance to commercial entities for the design and license of transportation packages for HA-LEU; the consideration of options for acquiring or providing HA-LEU from a stockpile of uranium owned by the DOE; the conduct of a survey of stakeholders to estimate the quantity of HA-LEU necessary for domestic commercial use; and the establishment and periodic update of a consortium to partner with DOE to support the availability of HA-LEU for civilian domestic demonstration and commercial use.

The DOE shall use a competitive, merit-based review process in carrying out research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities under section 2001 of the Energy Act of 2020, 42 U.S.C. § 16281. The DOE may only use up to 3% of the amounts appropriated for administrative expenses.