Urenco USA announced it has begun production in the sixth new enrichment cascade at its National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico, with the current US uranium enrichment capacity expansion project passing the 75% completion mark. The company says the capacity is being delivered ahead of schedule and on budget.

The New Mexico site, which began operations in 2010, is described as America's only commercial-scale producer of enriched uranium. Its existing annual capacity of 4.3 million SWU can meet roughly one-third of current US low-enriched uranium demand, and the site employs more than 500 US employees and long-term contractors.

700,000 SWU on the way

Urenco USA is installing 700,000 separative work units (SWU) of new enrichment capacity between 2025 and 2027. The seventh cascade is expected later this year, with the final cascade slated for spring 2027.

That cadence matters for the wider fuel cycle. Every increment of Western enrichment capacity relieves pressure on a market where utilities are competing for enriched uranium and where advanced reactor developers are simultaneously trying to book HALEU and enriched fuel for first cores.

Track record as a selling point

Since its first product shipment in 2012, Urenco USA says it has delivered every customer order on time and to specification, representing more than 50 million SWU of production, and has over two decades of experience building and operating US enrichment capacity.

Jody Blackshear, Managing Director of Urenco USA, said the company is consistently delivering new capacity to fuel the US nuclear industry and allied nations ahead of schedule and on budget, and that this experience will support larger capacity programs.

Blackshear added that the company looks to increase enrichment production by more than 50% to meet customer needs for both traditional and advanced reactors.

Policy tailwind

The expansion is framed as supporting DOE objectives to accelerate deployment of new domestic enrichment capacity. For HALEU specifically, the signal is indirect but relevant: a larger, more reliable centrifuge base in the US underpins the broader enriched-fuel ecosystem from which LEU, LEU+ and eventually higher-assay programmes draw technology, workforce and regulatory experience.

With Centrus pursuing HALEU and LEU expansion and Global Laser Enrichment progressing through licensing at Paducah, the US enrichment map is shifting from a single commercial-scale operator toward a genuinely competitive domestic supply base.

This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.