# Urenco to build a 2.1 million SWU enrichment plant in New Mexico, lifting the site past 7 million SWU

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/urenco-to-build-a-2-1-million-swu-enrichment-plant-in-new-mexico-a6ae6b96
Date: 2 Jun 2026
About: [Urenco](https://technooptimist.io/companies/urenco.md) · [Urenco USA Eunice expansion](https://technooptimist.io/energy/eunice-expansion.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/

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. Construction starts in 2029, first output in 2032 and full build-out by 2036. Together with the current 700,000 SWU programme the site gains 2.8 million SWU a year, as the US faces a fuel gap when Russian waivers end in 2028.

## Key facts

- Up to 24 cascades, 2.1 million SWU; no federal funding and no licence amendment needed.
- Timeline: construction 2029, first production 2032, full build-out 2036.
- 300-600 construction jobs at peak, 70 permanent jobs.
- In 2024 only 19% of the 15 million SWU US reactors bought came from US plants; Russia supplied 20%.
- Urenco's order book reached a record €21.3 billion at the end of 2025.

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