Urenco USA has completed its first production of low enriched uranium plus (LEU-plus) and installed its third cascade of centrifuges for the advanced fuel at its New Mexico uranium enrichment plant, the company said this week.
“In 2025, we have delivered on our plans to launch a new advanced fuels capability and to install new production capacity, demonstrating Urenco USA’s commitment to supporting the future needs of our customers and the U.S. nuclear industry as the country increasingly relies on nuclear energy,” John Kirkpatrick, managing director of Urenco USA, said in a Wednesday press release.
Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European Urenco Group, said it completed its initial production run of uranium enriched to 8.5% U-235. LEU-plus is uranium that is enriched between 5% and 10% U-235 and supports longer operating cycles for the current fleet and supplies fuel for advanced reactors.
According to the release, this is the first time a commercial uranium enrichment in the United States has produced this level of enrichment. The company plans to begin production of commercial quantities of LEU-plus for its customers in mid-2026.
Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorized Urenco USA to produce LEU-plus, which made it the first commercial uranium enricher to achieve this feat.
Urenco USA began production of LEU-plus on the third cascade Tuesday. The new centrifuge cascades were added as a part of a program to install 700,000 separative units of capacity by 2027 at its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M.
The company added all three new cascades this year. The first was installed in May and the second in September.
The three cascades demonstrate Urenco USA’s ability to add new enrichment capacity to meet growing demands of the domestic market and assist in eliminating the country’s reliance on Russian enriched uranium, the company said.