According to the authors of the newly released report, recycling used nuclear fuel can bridge critical shortages in the supply of specialized fuel needed for next-generation reactors. By extracting valuable materials from existing waste, the United States can create a reliable domestic source of power to supplement or temporarily replace imported fuel supplies.
The report states that “Commercial recycling in the United States would allow companies to recover uranium and transuranic elements from UNF to enable the production of uranium/transuranic (U/TRU) fuel, which can be used in certain advanced reactors in place of HALEU.” It further notes that this process “could serve as a stopgap fuel until sufficient domestic HALEU enrichment capabilities are established and could continue to supplement fuel material needs thereafter.”
In simpler terms, current nuclear waste still contains a significant amount of energy-rich material that can be turned into a different type of fuel. This recovered fuel works in many of the new, advanced reactor designs that would otherwise struggle to find enough of the specific uranium they require. Instead of relying on a limited and complex global supply chain, the U.S. can essentially harvest what it needs from the fuel it has already used, providing a temporary fix while the country builds up its own fuel manufacturing capacity.
The report “The Case for Commercial Recycling of Used Nuclear Fuel: Assessment and Recommendations” was published by the Energy Innovation Reform Project in Fairfax, Virginia, in April 2026. It was prepared by a team of experts including Dr. Christina Leggett, Paul J. Saunders, and Samuel Thernstrom.
