# Urenco USA Eunice expansion by Urenco

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/energy/eunice-expansion
Frontier: [Energy](https://technooptimist.io/energy.md) · Field: Nuclear fuel · Company: [Urenco](https://technooptimist.io/companies/urenco.md)
Stage: Scaling (5 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-06-22, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Grow US enrichment fast enough to replace Russian enriched uranium, banned from 2028, and to fuel new reactors. Eunice already covers about a third of US demand; this lifts it past 7 million SWU a year.
Status: Five of eight new cascades running (June 2026); a new 2.1M SWU plant follows from 2029.
Next milestone: Eighth and last cascade: 700,000 SWU added, target Q1 2027

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | First new cascade of the expansion starts producing | May 2025 |   |
| Done | NRC approval to enrich up to 10% U-235 announced | 2 Oct 2025 |   |
| Done | First US commercial LEU+ run, at 8.5% U-235 | Dec 2025 |   |
| Done | Fourth new cascade: halfway through the 700,000 SWU programme | 30 Mar 2026 |   |
| Done | New 2.1 million SWU plant announced, privately funded | 2 Jun 2026 |   |
| Done | Fifth new cascade starts production | 22 Jun 2026 |   |
| Current | Eighth and last cascade: 700,000 SWU added | Q1 2027 |   |
| Planned | Refurbishment of existing cascades begins | 2027 |   |
| Planned | Construction of the new plant begins | 2029 |   |
| Planned | First production from the new plant | 2032 |   |
| Planned | New plant fully built; site above 7 million SWU a year | 2036 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **Q1 2027**: Eighth and last cascade: 700,000 SWU added
- **2027**: Refurbishment of existing cascades begins
- **Q1 2027**: Last of eight new cascades online
- **1 Jan 2028**: US waivers for Russian enriched uranium end
- **2029**: Construction of the new plant begins
- **2032**: First production from the new plant
- **2036**: New plant fully built; site above 7 million SWU a year

## Most important updates

- **22 Jun 2026**: Fifth new cascade starts production at Urenco USA. Urenco USA's fifth new cascade began producing enriched uranium on 22 June 2026. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/fifth-new-cascade-starts-production-at-urenco-usa-f6fbd5a8.md) · [original source](https://www.urenco.com/news/uusa/2026/urenco-usa-continues-successful-installation-of-us-uranium-enrichment-capacity))
- **2 Jun 2026**: Urenco to build a 2.1 million SWU enrichment plant in New Mexico, lifting the site past 7 million SWU. Urenco will build a new enrichment plant of up to 24 centrifuge cascades at Eunice, adding 2.1 million SWU, nearly 50% more capacity, with private money. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/urenco-to-build-a-2-1-million-swu-enrichment-plant-in-new-mexico-a6ae6b96.md) · [original source](https://www.powermag.com/americas-only-commercial-uranium-enricher-is-privately-building-a-new-plant-amid-a-widening-nuclear-fuel-supply-gap/))
- **2 Apr 2026**: Urenco USA starts its fourth new cascade, halfway through a 700,000 SWU expansion. The fourth new centrifuge cascade at Urenco USA's Eunice plant began producing low-enriched uranium on 30 March 2026, the halfway point of the current expansion. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/urenco-usa-starts-its-fourth-new-cascade-halfway-through-a-700-000-swu-03fd594e.md) · [original source](https://www.urenco.com/news/usa/2026/urenco-usa-reaches-half-way-point-of-current-u.s-capacity-expansion))
- **10 Sep 2025**: Urenco USA brings its second new cascade online ahead of schedule. A second new centrifuge cascade began producing at Urenco USA's plant in Eunice, New Mexico, ahead of schedule, following the first in May. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/urenco-usa-brings-its-second-new-cascade-online-ahead-of-schedule-83c1d318.md) · [original source](https://www.urenco.com/news/uusa/2025/urenco-usa-expands-u.s-enrichment-capacity-with-second-new-cascade))

## Current obstacles

- **Racing the Russian ban**: Waivers for Russian enriched uranium end on 1 Jan 2028, but the new 2.1M SWU plant only starts producing in 2032.
- **Contracts before concrete**: Each build is sized to long-term utility contracts; the new plant went ahead without federal money, so demand must hold.

## Physics limits

- **Separating near-identical atoms**: UF6 molecules carrying U-235 are under 1% lighter than those carrying U-238, so each centrifuge enriches only a little; output grows with the number of machines, not with one clever trick.
- **Rotor strength sets the ceiling**: A centrifuge separates better the faster its rotor wall moves, and that speed is capped by how strong the rotor material is before it bursts.

## How it works

### Separative work: Enrichment is measured in SWU

A SWU measures the effort of splitting uranium into an enriched stream and a depleted one. US reactors bought 15 million SWU in 2024.

### Centrifuge: Spin the gas, skim the light part

Uranium hexafluoride gas spins in a fast rotor. Heavier U-238 is pushed to the wall; U-235 gathers nearer the axis and is drawn off.

### Cascade: Many small steps in a row

One machine enriches only slightly, so hundreds are piped together. Eunice adds capacity cascade by cascade, each producing once started.

### LEU+: Richer fuel, HALEU feedstock

Going from about 5% to up to 10% U-235 lets reactors run longer between refuelling and gives HALEU plants a head start on the way to 20%.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Urenco USA Eunice expansion | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Eunice capacity (before expansion) | 4.3 million SWU/year | reported |
| Cascades on site | 64 | reported |
| Current expansion | 700,000 SWU in 8 cascades (2025-27) | reported |
| New plant | 2.1 million SWU, up to 24 cascades | reported |
| Licensed site capacity | 10 million SWU/year | reported |
| Licensed enrichment | Up to 10% U-235 | reported |
| Produced since 2010 | Over 50 million SWU | reported |
| Private capital invested | About $5 billion | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Urenco

European uranium enricher owned in equal thirds by the UK, Dutch and German governments. It runs centrifuge plants in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the only commercial US enrichment plant, in Eunice, New Mexico.

- About 17.2 million SWU a year of enrichment across four plants (end-2025); Eunice alone covers about a third of US demand.
- Adding 700,000 SWU in Eunice in 2025-27, then a new 2.1 million SWU plant: construction 2029, first output 2032.
- Licensed in the US to enrich up to 10% U-235; a 27 t/yr HALEU plant is planned at Capenhurst, UK, for 2031.

- Headquarters: GB
- Status: private
- Website: https://www.urenco.com
- People: Boris Schucht (Chief Executive Officer); John Kirkpatrick (Managing Director, Urenco USA)
- Partners, customers, investors: Orano (partner); Aalo Atomics (customer); Radiant (customer); Antares (customer); Valar Atomics (customer)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/urenco.md

## Related programs

Everything in Energy: https://technooptimist.io/energy.md

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