# Paducah enrichment plant by General Matter

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/energy/paducah-enrichment-plant
Frontier: [Energy](https://technooptimist.io/energy.md) · Field: Nuclear fuel · Company: [General Matter](https://technooptimist.io/companies/general-matter.md)
Stage: Proto (2 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-09-28, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Make HALEU, the 5-20% enriched uranium most advanced reactors need, in the US at commercial scale. Almost all of it has come from Russia, whose supply ends under a 2028 import ban.
Status: NRC application filed Sept 2026; site prep under way; $900M DOE HALEU task order.
Next milestone: Licence amendment for HALEU, target 2027

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | DOE picks General Matter as one of four HALEU enrichers | Oct 2024 |   |
| Done | Emerges from stealth; about $50M Series A | Apr 2025 |   |
| Done | Signs DOE lease for 100 acres at Paducah | Aug 2025 |   |
| Done | DOE awards a $900M HALEU task order | 5 Jan 2026 |   |
| Done | NRC licence application filed (LEU) | 28 Sep 2026 |   |
| Planned | Licence amendment for HALEU | 2027 |   |
| Planned | Commercial-scale enrichment begins | 2030 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **2027**: Licence amendment for HALEU
- **1 Jan 2028**: US waivers for Russian enriched uranium end
- **2030**: Commercial-scale enrichment begins

## Most important updates

- **28 Sep 2026**: General Matter files its NRC licence application for the Paducah enrichment plant. General Matter submitted a 1,000-plus page application to the NRC for its Paducah plant, covering safety analysis, environment, fire hazards, decommissioning funding, security and emergency plans. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/general-matter-files-its-nrc-licence-application-for-the-paducah-428c88cb.md) · [original source](https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/general-matter-submits-enrichment-plant-licence-application))
- **5 Jan 2026**: DOE awards General Matter a $900 million task order for HALEU enrichment. The Department of Energy issued $900 million task orders to General Matter and to Centrus for domestic HALEU enrichment, and one to Orano for LEU, about $2.7 billion in all. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/doe-awards-general-matter-a-900-million-task-order-for-haleu-enrichment-17ab7144.md) · [original source](https://www.ans.org/news/2026-01-06/article-7652/doe-awards-27b-for-haleu-and-leu-enrichment/))
- **6 Aug 2025**: General Matter signs a DOE lease to build a $1.5 billion enrichment plant at Paducah, Kentucky. General Matter leased 100 acres at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant from the Department of Energy, with at least 7,600 cylinders of uranium hexafluoride to re-enrich. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/general-matter-signs-a-doe-lease-to-build-a-1-5-billion-enrichment-8376cad9.md) · [original source](https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/general-matter-plans-new-enrichment-plant-in-paducah))

## Current obstacles

- **Unproven at scale**: The enrichment method is undisclosed and has not run at commercial scale; schedule and cost claims cannot yet be checked.
- **Timeline uncertainty**: Operations were planned for 2034 in 2025; the company now says commercial enrichment by 2030.

## Physics limits

- **Separating near-identical atoms**: UF6 molecules carrying U-235 are under 1% lighter than those carrying U-238, so each centrifuge enriches only a little; output grows with the number of machines, not with one clever trick.
- **Richer fuel, stricter security**: Uranium above 10% U-235 needs tighter security for plants and shipments than ordinary reactor fuel, which adds cost to every HALEU step.

## How it works

### HALEU: Uranium enriched to 5-20%

Advanced reactors use richer fuel than today's 3.5-5% to run smaller cores longer; HALEU is the 10-20% band most of them need.

### Two-step licence: LEU first, HALEU next

The first NRC application covers LEU and LEU+, so construction can start sooner; a HALEU amendment follows in 2027.

### Tails as feed: Waste becomes feedstock

Depleted uranium left at Paducah still holds some U-235; enriching it again turns stored leftovers into fuel.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Paducah enrichment plant | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Project cost | $1.5 billion | reported |
| DOE task order | $900 million | reported |
| Leased site | 100 acres | reported |
| Depleted UF6 cylinders on lease | At least 7,600 | reported |
| Permanent jobs | About 140 | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About General Matter

California startup founded in 2024 and incubated at Founders Fund, building a private US uranium enrichment plant at the former Paducah gaseous diffusion site in Kentucky for LEU, LEU+ and HALEU. It has not disclosed its enrichment method.

- One of two HALEU enrichers with a $900M DOE task order (Jan 2026); the other is Centrus.
- Building a $1.5 billion plant on 100 leased acres at Paducah, which enriched uranium from 1952 to 2013.
- Filed its NRC licence application in Sept 2026; aims for commercial-scale enrichment by the end of the decade.

- Founded: 2024
- Headquarters: US
- Status: private
- Raised: $50M
- Last round: Series A $50M, Apr 2025, led by Founders Fund
- People: Scott Nolan (Co-founder and CEO); Drew DeWalt (Co-founder)
- Partners, customers, investors: US Department of Energy (customer); Founders Fund (investor)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/general-matter.md

## Related programs

Everything in Energy: https://technooptimist.io/energy.md

---

The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt).
Data API (JSON, realtime stream): https://technooptimist.io/developers. People read 5 pages free, then Reader $10/month; these Markdown pages are open to agents.