Each vertical runs from mine to demand.
High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) is required by roughly 90% of advanced reactor designs. Centrus Energy is the only US producer, running a 900 kg/year pilot line in Piketon, OH. Imported HALEU is being phased out starting 2028.
Large reactor pressure vessels and heavy components require forging capacity dominated by a single overseas supplier. A US forging consortium (Scot Forge, NAF) is not yet proven at reactor-pressure-vessel scale, and Navy submarine demand competes for the same domestic capacity.
Switchgear and transformers face a critical shortage with 2-3 year lead times, acting as a binding constraint on every data center, factory, and grid connection buildout, not just nuclear.
Roughly 90% of global rare earth processing capacity sits offshore. MP Materials is the only active US rare earth mine (Mountain Pass, CA); it has historically shipped concentrate overseas for separation and is building domestic separation and magnet manufacturing capacity targeted for 2028.
Roughly 95% of battery-grade graphite supply is produced offshore. Graphite One (Alaska) is one of the only US developers, not yet at commercial scale. Anode material is roughly 25% of lithium-ion cell cost.
US primary aluminum production fell to roughly 670,000 metric tons in 2024 from about 3.7 million metric tons in 2000. Only four smelters remain operating, two at reduced capacity; restarting a smelter costs $50M+ and takes 12-18 months.