US start-up Standard Nuclear will in future operate under US Department of Energy (DOE) oversight rather than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with the aim of significantly expanding TRISO (TRIstructural-ISOtropic) fuel manufacturing capacity
Standard Nuclear will move operations of its Tennessee and Idaho facilities to DOE oversight. The Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with DOE marks a major milestone in an effort to bring privately funded advanced nuclear-fuel production infrastructure online in support of TRISO-fuelled reactor demonstrations in 2026.
Several companies are seeking to demonstrate a low-power test reactor before 4 July 2026, in line with President Trump’s May Executive Order 14301, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy.
DOE operates a wide array of critical national infrastructure, including many US nuclear facilities. Access to and oversight of this infrastructure require compliance with an extensive suite of federal codes, DOE Orders, and DOE technical standards. Under the newly executed OTA, Standard Nuclear will transition key operational elements to full DOE oversight, ensuring adherence to this rigorous framework.
Standard says this oversight enables a substantial increase in the company’s TRISO fuel manufacturing throughput within its existing facilities. Standard Nuclear is drawing on expertise across the DOE complex to support this transition. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), operated by Battelle Energy Alliance for DOE, is providing technical assistance through a Strategic Partnership Project (SPP) agreement executed earlier this year. The company is also receiving technical support and specialised training from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
“We’re proud to be the first TRISO fuel manufacturer to execute an agreement of this kind with the Department of Energy ahead of next year’s reactor demonstrations,” said Kurt Terrani, CEO of Standard Nuclear. “The manner by which multiple parts of the DOE complex are working together to meet the mission and fulfil the clear national goal established in May is exactly the leadership the industry needed.”
“The advanced reactor and fuel technologies now moving into deployment all originate from decades of DOE research and development. Supporting industry through full demonstration and commercialisation is central to our mission,” said Jess Gehin, INL Associate Laboratory Director.
Standard Nuclear was the first company accepted under DOE’s Fuel Line Pilot Program launched in July. The initiative, issued in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactors for National Security seeks to eliminate US reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials while opening the door for private sector investment in America’s nuclear renaissance. DOE issued a Request for Application from qualified US companies to build and operate nuclear fuel production lines using the DOE authorisation process.
Standard Nuclear emerged from stealth in June following a funding round that raised $42m led by Decisive Point to develop advanced nuclear fuel. The company is built on assets purchased at auction following the bankruptcy of the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) for $28m. Terrani, previously served as Vice President at USNC. Standard Nuclear says it has $100m in non-binding fuel sales for 2027, and that it is working with customers including Nano Nuclear Energy, which acquired other USNC assets in the bankruptcy auction, and Radiant Industries, another Decisive Point portfolio company.
Under the Fuel Line Pilot Program Standard Nuclear aims to leverage the DOE authorisation process to ensure a robust supply of nuclear fuel in both Tennessee and Idaho. Standard Nuclear will be responsible for all costs associated with the construction operation, and decommissioning of the facility. Reactor project developers will manage the sourcing of nuclear material feedstock for fuel fabrication, which could be acquired through DOE’s high-assay low-enriched uranium allocation programme.
Standard Nuclear owns and operates a set of fully equipped commercial-scale facilities totalling 19,000-square-feet that sit on its 36.8 acre campus located at the former K-25 Nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The Company operates its fully permitted radiological facilities to manufacture and supply TRISO fuel forms with varying specifications for its multiple commercial and government customers.
