GE Vernova’s nuclear fuel business Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) has received approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to manufacture, ship, and analyse the performance of nuclear fuel enriched with up to 8% uranium-235.

The approval means the company’s manufacturing facility in Wilmington, North Carolina, becomes the first commercial facility in the US to hold a licence to fabricate fuel containing up to 8 percent U-235, according to GE Vernova.

GE Vernova said the NRC approved licensing topical reports for advanced nuclear methods that will permit GNF to analyse fuel with enrichments above the 5% U-235 limit for conventional low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel.