Lord Vallance, who was appointed U.K. Minister for Science, Innovation, Research, and Nuclear in September 2025, said, “Not only does this improve our energy security at home and reduce our reliance on Russian nuclear fuel, it provides export opportunities to grow our economy and ensure our allies can build resilient supply chains. This agreement builds on our close cooperation with the U.S. on nuclear energy.”
HALEU is a common goal: Both the U.K. and the U.S. are investing in HALEU fuel infrastructure. Nuclear Newswire reported on the similarities between the two nations’ programs in 2024, noting that both nations have invested in HALEU enrichment, deconversion, and transportation infrastructure, foreseeing the need to provide HALEU at different enrichments and in metal and oxide forms.
In 2024, the U.K. government awarded NTS—which is part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority—£10.5 million (about $14.4 million) to develop the nation’s transport capability for HALEU.
According to NTS and the U.K. government, the new agreement to collaborate on the development of Pegasus “formalizes the sharing of technical expertise, safety protocols, and design insights between NTS and Westinghouse, accelerating development of Pegasus for deployment. It also strengthens collaboration on engineering, regulatory compliance, and fuel handling standards.”
Westinghouse plans to deconvert: In the U.S., Westinghouse was one of six companies chosen by the DOE in October 2024 to deconvert HALEU and transform enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to other chemical forms, including metal or oxide, for storage before its fabrication into fuel for advanced reactors.
Westinghouse, which has a low-enriched uranium (Category III) fuel fabrication facility in Columbia, S.C., and extensive light water reactor experience, is developing its HALEU-fueled eVinci microreactor with plans for a test reactor at Idaho National Laboratory’s DOME and is developing a lead-cooled fast reactor.
In March 2025 in London, Westinghouse and Urenco (which is owned by the British, Dutch, and German governments) signed an agreement for the supply of HALEU for eVinci microreactors.
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