Urenco USA has produced its first cylinder of LEU+ at the National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico, according to World Nuclear News on November 3. Urenco describes the milestone as the first commercial production of the material in the Western world.

LEU+ contains 5% to 10% uranium-235. Standard low-enriched uranium (LEU), used in most operating commercial reactors, contains 3% to 5%. High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) contains 10% to 20%. LEU+ can serve as feedstock for producing HALEU, and some advanced reactor designs under development will use LEU+ fuel directly. Fuel made from LEU+ can let existing light water reactors run longer cycles, which reduces the frequency of refueling outages and lowers operations and maintenance costs.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorized Urenco USA in September 2025 to enrich uranium up to 10% uranium-235 at the New Mexico plant. All of the plant's gas centrifuge cascades are licensed to produce LEU+. Jody Blackshear, Urenco USA managing director, said staff and site teams spent a great deal of preparation work to reach the milestone and that the company can now supply the fuel option to customers. The report named no customers.

Urenco USA is installing 700,000 separative work units (SWU) of new centrifuge enrichment capacity at the facility. The company aims to expand its U.S. enrichment capacity to more than 7 million SWU over the next decade. Urenco has also announced plans for a new 2.1 million SWU enrichment plant at the site, with construction starting in 2029, first centrifuge cascades expected to begin production in 2032, and additional cascades installed through 2036. The new capacity is also planned to be available for LEU+ production.

Source: World Nuclear News - https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/urenco-usa-marks-first-commercial-leu-production