Urenco USA announced it has successfully completed production of its first product cylinder of low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+).

The enrichment company said this is the first commercial production of LEU+ in the western world and ushers in a new era of nuclear fuel options for existing light-water reactors and new advanced reactor designs that will use higher levels of enriched uranium.

With the availability of LEU+, existing light-water reactors will have the opportunity to operate for longer cycles, reducing the frequency of refuelling outages, and reduce operations and maintenance costs.

Several advanced reactor technologies being developed will also use LEU+ as fuel.