Company making major commitment to strengthening US nuclear fuel supply chain
Urenco USA announced the startup of the fifth cascade of new US uranium enrichment capacity at its New Mexico facility.
The company said the cascade began production on 22 June, continuing its track record of bringing new cascades online ahead of schedule and on budget.
The new cascade is part of the current capacity programme at the facility to install 700,000 separative work units (SWU)* of enrichment capacity over a two-year period, including three further cascades, by early 2027. The facility has an existing annual capacity of 4.3 million SWU, which is approximately one-third of current US demand.
Urenco USA said its capacity programme supports the US Department of Energy’s goals to accelerate the deployment of new domestic capacity and to strengthen the US nuclear fuel supply chain to meet the expected increase in demand from utilities operating nuclear plants in the US and “allied nations”.
Starting in 2027, Urenco USA will also begin to refurbish existing cascades at the site as part of ongoing capital investments in the facility.
In support of that project, Urenco USA has begun construction of a centrifuge storage building at the site, which will house equipment removed from existing cascades until future disposal.
Urenco USA announced last month that it will expand the capacity of the facility by nearly 50%, marking a major commitment to strengthening the US nuclear fuel supply chain as the country expands the use of nuclear power.
Installed capacity will grow to more than seven million SWU over the next 10 years.
* A separative work unit (SWU) is the standard measure of the effort required to separate uranium-235 (U-235) and uranium-238 (U-238). Both are isotopes of uranium, but they differ in the number of neutrons in their nuclei and have different properties and uses. U-235 is used as fuel in nuclear power plants, naval ships and submarines, and in nuclear weapons. U-235 must be separated from the more plentiful isotope U-238 for its various uses.
