New US company plans uranium conversion facility

Newly-launched FluxPoint Energy says it is developing what it expects will be the first new uranium conversion facility in the USA in 70 years.
 
(Image: FluxPoint)

Headquartered in Houston, Texas and McLean, Virginia, FluxPoint Energy was officially launched last week at the CERAWeek international energy event in Houston, Texas. The company said its mission is to "establish a fully American, vertically integrated nuclear fuel capability - supporting energy independence, enabling advanced reactor deployment, and strengthening national security".

The planned facility will convert uranium oxide (U3O8) into uranium hexafluoride (UF6). Uranium must be converted from U3O8 - the "yellowcake" that is shipped from uranium mines and mills - to gaseous UF6 before it can be enriched in fissile uranium-235 for use in nuclear fuel. FluxPoint Energy is targeting first production in 2030–2031.

The company said that development of the facility "is well under way". The company has already secured a project site and due diligence work is in progress. A comprehensive market study and a technical feasibility study have been completed, while Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies have been initiated.

The company said it is actively engaging with federal and state stakeholders on regulatory pathways and reporting strong early interest from prospective customers and investors.

"Policymakers, utilities, and developers increasingly point to fuel availability as a limiting factor for America's nuclear reactors - both present and future," said Mike Chilton, Founder and CEO of FluxPoint Energy. "Uranium conversion has become an unacceptable chokepoint in a global supply chain still dominated by foreign providers.

"America cannot lead in nuclear energy while relying on foreign-controlled fuel processing. FluxPoint was created to restore a critical piece of our nation's energy infrastructure - ensuring that US reactors have access to a secure, domestic fuel supply. This is about energy security, economic strength, and global leadership ... As global demand for reliable, carbon-free energy accelerates, FluxPoint Energy is positioning itself at the centre of a renewed American nuclear supply chain. We are helping unlock nuclear power's full potential as a cornerstone of the nation's energy future."

The initiative responds to federal policy under recent executive orders from the White House calling for a fourfold increase of US nuclear generating capacity by 2050 and reducing reliance on overseas suppliers. Onshoring the nuclear fuel cycle is seen as a priority for national security.

Honeywell's Metropolis Works plant, built in the 1950s in southern Illinois, is currently the only uranium conversion facility in the USA. It was temporarily shut down from 2017 to 2023 due to poor market conditions, but was restarted in July 2023. Solstice Advanced Materials - which was spun off from Honeywell in October last year - has invested in de-bottlenecking projects at Metropolis Works following its 2023 restart with the aim of raising production.

In September 2025, Texas-headquartered Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) launched a new subsidiary - called United States Uranium Refining & Conversion Corp (UR&C) - to pursue the feasibility of developing a new US uranium refining and conversion facility. The proposed facility - which UEC says will be the largest conversion facility in the USA and "amongst the most modern in the Western world" - is envisaged as having a designed capacity to produce some 10,000 tU per year as UF6, representing a "substantial share" of the USA's 18,000 tU per year demand.

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