UK’s NTS signs HALEU logistics deal with Westinghouse to advance Pegasus project

Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), the specialist logistics arm of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has signed a formal partnership agreement with Westinghouse Electric Company to co-develop Pegasus, a next-generation transport package for High Assay Low Enriched Uranium fuel. The deal was signed in Washington, D.C., and reflects growing UK–US collaboration on securing HALEU logistics as both nations scale up their advanced nuclear ambitions.

Why are UK and US regulators and developers prioritising HALEU transport infrastructure in 2026?

The Pegasus project underscores a new phase in UK–US nuclear cooperation that goes beyond symbolic alignment and into actionable infrastructure development. With High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) identified as a critical fuel for next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs) and other advanced designs, both governments are backing efforts to build sovereign capabilities in enrichment, fuel handling, and logistics. HALEU contains between 5% and 20% uranium-235, positioning it as a sweet spot between traditional low-enriched fuels and weapons-grade material. Its handling, however, requires purpose-built solutions for safety, shielding, and multi-modal transport compliance across borders.

This is where Pegasus enters the frame. Nuclear Transport Solutions, through its NDA backing and track record in transnational radioactive logistics, offers the regulatory familiarity and transport discipline that a commercial developer like Westinghouse needs to scale its HALEU operations in a tightly scrutinised environment. The agreement provides for co-development of packaging, fuel handling protocols, safety certifications, and regulatory harmonisation across the United Kingdom and United States.

From a policy lens, the timing aligns with both countries’ escalating urgency to reduce dependency on Russian-supplied HALEU. While enrichment capacity is one part of that puzzle, the ability to move HALEU safely, securely, and under sovereign control is now viewed as a parallel supply chain priority.

How does Pegasus fit into the broader push for advanced reactor deployment and AI-aligned clean energy?

Pegasus is not just a transport container. It is the logistical precondition for next-generation reactors to operate on HALEU fuel within commercial or research environments. The partnership gives the concept a clear path to deployment, anchored by entities with regulatory credibility in their respective jurisdictions.

Pegasus will support advanced reactors that are increasingly being linked to 24/7 clean power needs for digital infrastructure, including artificial intelligence training clusters, industrial microgrids, and data centers. These modular or fast reactors require fuel cycles that are denser and more efficient than those used in traditional light water reactors. But without HALEU logistics infrastructure, their deployment faces severe bottlenecks.

This makes the NTS–Westinghouse collaboration more than a bilateral engineering project. It is a strategic investment in futureproofing grid capacity and powering new energy-intensive technologies without locking in fossil baseloads. Nuclear-linked AI data center projects are already being scoped in the US Midwest, and the UK is considering similar models for regional energy innovation zones. Pegasus could quietly become the logistics enabler for that wave.

What are the execution risks and regulatory challenges for a HALEU transport system?

While the announcement sets a high-level direction, the operational and regulatory complexity of HALEU logistics is non-trivial. Transporting uranium enriched to up to 20% U-235 requires bespoke containment design, thermal shielding, and emergency response coordination. The Pegasus system will need to pass rigorous testing under both UK Office for Nuclear Regulation and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards, with harmonisation challenges likely across licensing regimes.

Moreover, international nuclear logistics are governed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) transport regulations, meaning that Pegasus must meet standards that can be ratified by other nations looking to import or export HALEU-based reactor technologies. This includes potential routes across Europe, Asia, or Africa if the UK–US advanced nuclear export vision matures into a globally linked reactor supply chain.

There are also potential risks in the public and political domain. Although the UK and US governments have expressed strong support for advanced nuclear and HALEU, there remains persistent stakeholder concern over fuel proliferation, accident response, and transparency. The NTS–Westinghouse agreement must navigate these optics carefully, particularly in the event of transport incidents, international scrutiny, or fuel diversification moves by adversarial regimes.

How does this agreement reinforce the UK’s nuclear export ambitions and strategic autonomy?

The UK’s long-term nuclear strategy includes both domestic clean energy independence and export-oriented industrial capability. By building the logistics spine for HALEU fuel, the UK positions itself as a credible contributor to allied nuclear deployments, especially in Commonwealth and NATO countries lacking sovereign enrichment or transport infrastructure.

Nuclear Transport Solutions, by virtue of being embedded in the NDA and backed by public funding, offers a rare blend of commercial agility and regulatory pedigree. Its 2024 £10.5 million HALEU transport development grant from the UK government was the first real signal that Pegasus would move from conceptual stage to strategic asset. That momentum is now reinforced by the Westinghouse partnership, which anchors Pegasus in a potential customer base with HALEU needs emerging from the company’s eVinci microreactor and AP300 SMR platforms.

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has made clear that secure HALEU logistics is not just a technical problem, but a foreign policy lever. If Pegasus becomes an exportable solution, it could enable UK-based companies to participate in advanced reactor deployments abroad, reducing global reliance on Russian logistics and fuel-cycle dependencies.

What are the implications for Westinghouse and the advanced reactor ecosystem in the United States?

For Westinghouse, the Pegasus collaboration represents a tactical acceleration of its HALEU value chain, particularly at a time when the US Department of Energy is actively investing in non-Russian HALEU production through its HALEU Availability Program. By teaming with a specialist nuclear transporter like NTS, Westinghouse gains faster access to credible logistics protocols that might otherwise require years of development or new licensing submissions.

This can materially reduce the time-to-market for its advanced nuclear products, especially as utilities and data center operators seek firm clean power sources. In a competitive landscape that includes X-energy, TerraPower, and NuScale, logistical readiness could become a key differentiator.

It also strengthens Westinghouse’s role in US–UK nuclear diplomacy. As a historically American-rooted company now owned by Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco Corporation, Westinghouse’s ability to coordinate transatlantic HALEU logistics could unlock joint deployments, co-financing structures, and multilateral export agreements in Europe and Asia.

How does this shape the transatlantic strategy for clean energy supply chains?

Pegasus is emerging as a key node in the architecture of resilient, secure, and politically trusted clean energy infrastructure. As UK–US clean energy alignment deepens in areas such as hydrogen, carbon capture, and modular nuclear, logistical readiness is increasingly being treated as infrastructure in its own right.

The signing ceremony’s location at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. was symbolic, but the substance of the agreement shows institutional buy-in from both government and commercial actors. For the UK, it is a move toward strategic autonomy. For the US, it is a step in operationalising HALEU supply chains beyond domestic enrichment.

In both cases, the NTS–Westinghouse partnership places logistics at the center of clean energy industrial policy—a trend likely to gain momentum as climate-linked technologies become more infrastructure intensive.

What does the NTS–Westinghouse Pegasus deal mean for UK–US nuclear strategy and HALEU deployment?

• The agreement marks a strategic co-development of Pegasus, a HALEU transport system critical to advanced nuclear fuel logistics.
• Nuclear Transport Solutions and Westinghouse aim to harmonise UK–US regulatory standards for HALEU movement.
• The partnership directly addresses UK and US goals to reduce dependency on Russian nuclear fuel supply chains.
• Pegasus is positioned as the transport backbone for small modular reactors and AI-aligned clean power infrastructure.
• Execution risks include cross-border certification, safety compliance, and public perception challenges.
• The initiative boosts the UK’s ability to export nuclear technology and participate in allied clean energy deployments.
• Westinghouse strengthens its logistics readiness and competitive positioning in the HALEU-fueled SMR market.
• The project supports UK aspirations to become a clean energy superpower with sovereign fuel cycle capabilities.
• HALEU logistics readiness is increasingly seen as a strategic infrastructure asset, not just a regulatory requirement.
• The deal reflects a broader shift toward resilient, transatlantic clean energy supply chains integrating policy and commercial execution.