Urenco USA starts sixth enrichment cascade at Eunice, completing 75% of its expansion

Urenco

Urenco USA has started production in the sixth cascade of new uranium enrichment capacity at its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, New Mexico, which the company says completes 75% of its current expansion. The added capacity matters because Eunice is currently the only commercial uranium enrichment plant in the USA, and enrichment is needed to make most reactor fuel.

• The expansion adds 700,000 separative work units (SWU) between 2025 and 2027, through eight centrifuge cascades in an existing building. The seventh cascade is due later in 2026 and the last in spring 2027.
• The company's goal is more than 7 million SWU of domestic enrichment over the next decade. A planned new plant would add 2.1 million SWU.
• Timeline for the new plant: construction starts in 2029, first cascades produce in 2032, and more are installed through 2036. Refurbishing existing cascades starts in 2027.
• Enrichment raises uranium-235 from about 0.7% in natural uranium to the 3.5% to 5% most commercial reactor fuel needs.
• Managing Director Jody Blackshear says the teams are "ahead of schedule and on budget". The schedule, budget and future capacity figures are the company's own and were not independently verified.