Westinghouse Electric Company has announced an investment of approximately $1bn (€890m) in a new manufacturing facility for low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+) nuclear fuel at its existing Columbia fuel fabrication site in South Carolina, a statement said.
The company said construction has begun at the site near Hopkins. Production is scheduled to start in 2030.
The expansion will establish commercial manufacturing of LEU+ fuel, which uses uranium enriched to between 5% and 8% uranium-235, compared with the enrichment level of up to 5% typically used in commercial light-water reactors.
Westinghouse said the higher enrichment fuel could allow nuclear power plants to extend operating cycles between refuelling outages and increase electricity output through reactor power uprates.
According to the company, LEU+ fuel could enable pressurised water reactors to operate for 24 months between refuelling outages, compared with the 18-month cycles commonly used today.
The company also expects the additional capacity to support wider deployment of its AP1000 pressurised water reactor technology.
First LEU+ Fuel Deployed In 2025
The investment follows the first deployment of Westinghouse LEU+ fuel in the US in April 2025, when lead test assemblies were loaded into Unit 2 of the Vogtle nuclear power station in Georgia.
The assemblies, containing fuel enriched above 5%, were manufactured at the Columbia facility as part of Westinghouse’s EnCore fuel programme, supported by the US Department of Energy.
Southern Nuclear, operator of the Vogtle plants, received a licence amendment from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2023 to load the lead test assemblies.
The existing Columbia facility, which began operations in 1968, produces nuclear fuel pellets, rods, assemblies and components for customers in the US and internationally. It currently employs more than 1,200 people.
Westinghouse said the expansion is supported by federal tax credits and incentives from South Carolina and Richland County.
An economic impact study commissioned by the company and carried out with researchers at the University of South Carolina estimates that the investment could generate $4.9bn in economic activity across the state over the next decade, including $3.8bn in Richland County.
