Antares Nuclear said on Thursday it has signed a binding multi-year fuel supply agreement (FSA) with Oak Ridge-based Standard Nuclear to deliver up to eight metric tons of uranium (MTU) of TRISO fuel through 2035, locking in the fuel base for Antares' compact microreactors targeting U.S. military installations and space missions.
Deal Terms
Under the FSA, Standard Nuclear — currently the only U.S. company running an industrial-scale TRISO fuel fabrication facility — will supply up to eight MTUs of fuel to Antares over roughly nine years. The agreement builds on joint work the two companies have run since 2025 covering fuel specification, manufacturability and production-path alignment. The commitment is separate from Standard Nuclear's Q2 2026 filing, which disclosed a firm one-MTU order plus a customer option for up to seven additional MTUs — a structure that matches the newly-announced Antares agreement.
Why TRISO Matters For Antares' Roadmap
Antares is developing compact microreactors for defense and space applications, targeting forward operating bases, persistent space operations and mission-critical infrastructure that traditional grid or diesel power cannot support. Founded in 2023 and backed by more than $600 million in funding, the Torrance, California-based company achieved initial criticality of its Mark-0 microreactor in 2026 under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. It plans to produce electricity from an advanced reactor in 2027 and to begin initial production deployments at U.S. military installations from 2028.
Standard Nuclear's Ramp
Standard Nuclear reported $4.7 million of Q2 2026 revenue, an eight-fold jump year over year, with a total contract backlog of $241.5 million as of June 30. The Antares deal follows a similar August 20 fuel supply agreement with Radiant Industries covering multiple MTUs through 2031 for the Kaleidos microreactor. Together, the two contracts anchor Standard Nuclear's ramp of TRISO output at Oak Ridge and downstream, and demonstrate the fuel-security thesis under President Trump's May 2025 nuclear executive orders.
Context: Microreactors Enter Procurement Phase
The Antares×Standard Nuclear FSA closes a critical link in the U.S. advanced-reactor supply chain just as microreactor procurement moves from demonstration to deployment. The U.S. Army this week awarded $2.2 billion for the Janus Program to stand up microreactors at five bases, and other advanced-reactor developers have been racing to secure fuel. Peers include Kaleidos-maker Radiant Industries, X-energy — whose TRISO-X arm is scaling HALEU at Oak Ridge with Centrus enrichment — and NuScale via a Curio/Framatome MOU on the SMR fuel cycle.
Reporting based on coverage from Business Wire via Yahoo Finance and Standard Nuclear's Q2 2026 disclosures.