Nuclear fuel start-up General Matter has submitted its first licence application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct and operate a commercial uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky. The 1,000-page document marks a significant step toward establishing what could become the second full-scale uranium enrichment plant in the US, aimed at restoring domestic supply chains and breaking reliance on foreign fuel.
The initial core application was filed under 10 CFR Part 70. This is the standard federal pathway to produce special nuclear material. General Matter is using a two-part strategy. It encompasses integrated safety analyses, environmental impacts, fire hazards, decommissioning funding, security frameworks, and emergency procedures. While the current filing covers standard enrichment, the company plans to submit an amendment next year to specifically produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is critical for fuelling next-generation advanced nuclear reactors.
While the NRC typically takes about 18 months to review such applications, General Matter is seeking an accelerated review under modernised NRC processes, targeting approval in roughly 12 months.
General Matter was founded in January 2024 and emerged from “stealth mode” in April 2025. The company was established to address a critical gap in the American nuclear fuel supply chain, specifically aiming to end US reliance on Russian uranium imports. Its origins are rooted in a combination of Silicon Valley venture capital and aerospace engineering expertise. The company was incubated within Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel.
In August 2025, General Matter leased a 100-acre parcel at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to build a new private-sector commercial facility. The legacy facility was the last fully US-owned enrichment plant before it ceased operations in 2013.
The project is valued at approximately $1.5bn and the company eventually aims to produce both low-enriched uranium (LEU) and HALEU. The lease provides General Matter with a minimum of 7,600 cylinders of existing uranium hexafluoride to supply fuel for future re-enrichment operations. Reprocessing of uranium hexafluoride saves about $800m in avoided disposal costs while General Matter benefits from a consistent supply of US-origin uranium hexafluoride feed.
General Matter said the NRC docket “will show we’ve requested to keep some parts of our application confidential, a standard industry practice to protect proprietary and security-related information”. The two-part approach – a core application followed by an amendment for higher assays – “both streamlines the licensing process and enables us to begin construction sooner”. The company noted that NRC’s efforts to modernise licensing processes “enabled us to request an accelerated review, a new practice for applications demonstrating high impact for the nation”.
