Urenco USA produces first commercial cylinder of LEU+ fuel
The NRC authorized enrichment up to 10% U-235 in September 2025; all gas centrifuge cascades at the New Mexico site are licensed for the fuel.
Key facts
- LEU+ enriches uranium to between 5% and 10% U-235, against 3-5% for standard LEU
- New enrichment plant construction begins 2029, adding 2.1 million separative work units (SWU); first cascades in 2032
- Capacity to exceed 7 million SWU over the next decade, per Urenco
- Existing 4.3 million SWU meets about one-third of current US low-enriched uranium demand
- HALEU, enriched to 10-20%, needs a dedicated facility and separate NRC authorization; LEU+ can serve as feedstock
Urenco USA said on November 2, 2026, that it completed production of its first commercial product cylinder of low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+) at its facility in Eunice, New Mexico. LEU+ is uranium enriched to between 5% and 10% U-235, compared with 3% to 5% for the low-enriched uranium most commercial reactors use. The NRC authorized Urenco USA in September 2025 to enrich uranium up to 10% U-235. All of the plant’s gas centrifuge cascades are licensed to produce LEU+.
Urenco said LEU+ would allow existing light water reactors to operate for longer cycles and reduce the frequency of refueling outages and operations and maintenance costs. It said several advanced reactor technologies in development would use LEU+ as fuel. Urenco also said LEU+ could serve as feedstock for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and would increase the amount of fuel a dedicated HALEU facility could produce. HALEU is enriched to between 10% and 20% U-235 and requires a dedicated facility and separate NRC authorization.
