Nucleon Fuel seeks $20M grant for Wyoming uranium conversion plant
A possible $10 million loan from Wyoming's Energy Dominance Fund would accompany the grant.
Key facts
- Passed initial committee review; public comment ends November 16
- Each SMT-5000 module capable of 5,000 metric tons of UF6 a year
- Construction targeted for 2030 or 2031, per Nucleon Fuel
- No license application filed with NRC or other regulators
- $20 million private investment secured to meet matching requirement
Nucleon Fuel has applied for a $20 million grant and a possible $10 million loan from the Wyoming Energy Dominance Fund to build a uranium conversion facility near Gillette, Wyo. Both would be drawn from the fund the state legislature created under Senate File 123, which took effect July 1 and caps the fund at $105 million. The application has passed an initial committee review and is in a 30-day public comment period that ends November 16, according to the Wyoming Energy Authority. Nucleon Fuel will hold an open house in Gillette on October 28.
Three modules planned for 15,000 metric tons
The application names the project the Fort Union Uranium Conversion Facility. Each SMT-5000 module would produce 5,000 metric tons of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) a year, and Nucleon Fuel plans to install three units for 15,000 metric tons a year. The modules use a wet conversion process, in which uranium oxide feed is dissolved in nitric acid to remove impurities before conversion to UF6. The only conversion facility operating in the United States, Solstice Advanced Materials' Metropolis Works in Metropolis, Ill., uses a dry process and is targeting 10,000 metric tons of UF6 for 2026.
Nucleon Fuel and its parent, Canadian SMR developer Nucleon Energy, describe themselves as in exploratory, planning and engagement phases and have not applied to the NRC or other regulators for licenses. Nucleon Fuel sent the NRC a letter of intent in April for a license application under 10 CFR Part 40 and named Arizona and North Dakota as possible sites alongside Wyoming. It targets a construction start in 2030 or 2031.
Matching funds already secured
Senate File 123 requires grant applicants to match an award with investment secured elsewhere; Nucleon Fuel has met that requirement with $20 million in private investment. The fund is built from severance tax revenue collected in fiscal year 2027, and any unexpended, unobligated money reverts to the state's permanent mineral trust fund reserve account on December 31, 2028. The Wyoming Energy Authority's review committee considers applications three times a year, with deadlines on March 1, July 1 and November 1.
