French nuclear fuel cycle company Orano will spend €1.7bn ($1.8bn) to expand a uranium enrichment plant in southern France as countries in the West seek to reduce their reliance on Russian nuclear fuel.

The investment will boost production at the Georges Besse 2 facility by more than 30%, corresponding to 2.5 million separative work units (SWUs)*, Orano said in a statement.

The site will eventually process enough uranium to generate nuclear power for the equivalent of 120 million households a year, it said.