Wedoany.com Report-Dec.19, Urenco USA has successfully produced its first batch of uranium enriched to 8.5% U-235, marking an achievement for a commercial uranium enrichment facility in the United States. The initial production run of this low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+) was completed on December 11.
LEU+ refers to uranium enriched between 5% and 10% U-235. The company received authorization from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in September to enrich uranium up to 10% U-235. Commercial-scale quantities are planned for customer delivery starting in mid-2026.
John Kirkpatrick, managing director of Urenco USA, said: "In 2025, we have delivered on our plans to launch a new advanced fuels capability and to install new production capacity, demonstrating Urenco USA's commitment to supporting the future needs of our customers and the US nuclear industry as the country increasingly relies on nuclear energy.
"Our employees' efforts this year will ensure that the United States continues to have a reliable domestic supplier of enriched uranium for our current reactor fleet and for the advanced reactors preparing for deployment in the coming years."
Natural uranium contains approximately 0.7% of the fissile isotope U-235, with the remainder primarily non-fissile U-238. Most operating nuclear reactors require fuel enriched to between 3.5% and 5% U-235, known as low-enriched uranium (LEU). Many advanced reactor designs, including small modular reactors, need higher enrichments in the 5% to 10% range (LEU+) or 10% to 20% range (high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU).
Enrichment involves converting uranium to gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF6) and passing it through gas centrifuges. The slight mass difference between isotopes allows separation, concentrating U-235 toward the center of the spinning rotor. The enriched material is then converted back to uranium oxide powder for fuel fabrication.
In a separate development this month, Urenco USA commissioned its third new centrifuge cascade of 2025 on December 16, beginning production of LEU. This forms part of an expansion program targeting an additional 700,000 separative work units (SWU) of capacity by 2027 at the company’s enrichment plant in New Mexico.
Urenco USA operates the only commercial uranium enrichment facility that has been licensed, constructed, operated, and expanded within the United States. The increased capacity addresses rising domestic demand for enriched uranium across current and future reactor technologies.
