Two projects, one roadmap
Behind Urenco USA's first commercial LEU+ cylinder sits a much larger construction programme. The company is installing 700,000 SWU of new centrifuge enrichment capacity at its New Mexico site as part of a stated goal to expand US enrichment production capacity to more than 7 million SWU over the next decade.
Beyond that incremental addition, Urenco plans an entirely new 2.1 million SWU enrichment plant at the same Eunice location. Construction is targeted to start in 2029, with the first centrifuge cascades producing in 2032 and additional cascades coming online through 2036. The new capacity will also be available to produce LEU+, the 5%-10% U-235 material the company began producing commercially in late 2026.
Starting from a 4.3 million SWU base
The existing National Enrichment Facility began commercial operations in 2010 and currently has a nominal output of roughly 4.3 million SWU per year, a figure reported to cover about one-third of global enrichment demand. The expansion programme therefore represents a substantial proportional increase on an already large installed base, delivered in stages rather than in a single step.
Why the timeline is the story
Advanced reactor developers and HALEU buyers are working against nearer-term fuel availability constraints. A plant whose first cascades arrive in 2032 and whose capacity is only fully reached in 2036 does not solve demand in the current decade. What it does provide is a visible, dated path to large-scale Western enrichment capacity that can be contracted in advance.
Construction of the new plant is planned to begin in 2029, with first cascades starting up in 2032 and projected capacity reached by 2036.
The distinction between announced capacity and producing capacity matters for anyone modelling HALEU feedstock availability. Each new cascade must be built, installed, tested and licensed before it contributes separative work.
A competitive context
Urenco's programme is unfolding alongside separate US expansion efforts, including Centrus Energy's centrifuge manufacturing buildout at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is intended to support additional enrichment capacity and HALEU production at Piketon, Ohio. The combined effect is a US enrichment sector scaling in parallel across multiple operators and technologies.
For now, the near-term signal is the 700,000 SWU installation already under way; the 2.1 million SWU plant remains a planned project with a construction start still ahead of it.
This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.