As the global nuclear sector looks toward the early 2030s as a decisive decade for small modular reactors (SMRs) and interest in long-cycle, high-burnup fuels grows, the pressures on the front end of the fuel cycle are becoming more acute. In bid to meet this challenge Urenco has spent the past several years preparing to meet changing supply chain needs. What began as internal optimisation for slightly higher enrichments has now evolved into a new business line, Urenco Advanced Fuels. “Urenco had the vision at least five years ago to invest in this field, taking the first step into what is today called Urenco Advanced Fuels,” explains Dr Magnus Mori, Head of Advanced Fuels, Commercial, at Urenco.
The origins of Urenco’s advanced fuel strategy predate the recent wave of SMR announcements. Initially drivers came from utilities, especially in the US, which were seeking higher burnup rates to extend cycle lengths and, in some cases, to sharpen fleet economics. As Mori notes: “We started looking at high burn-up fuels for longer fuel cycles, enriched to levels that are higher than 5%. Urenco already enriched up to 6% for internal optimisation and blending.” According to Urenco, that led to the initial definition of LEU+, covering enrichments up to 10% and occurred long before HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium of up to 20% ²³⁵U) became a focal point for the nuclear industry and the new generation of reactor designs.
While the technical feasibility of LEU+ was not in doubt given Urenco’s gas centrifuge technology, implementing LEU+ on a commercial scale required a decision to formalise the capability and build what is now a distinct advanced fuels business line. “After a few years of business development activities, that culminated with the creation of two teams,” says Mori, adding that one team handles internal project development; the other is fully commercially focused. Supported by new facilities, new logistics solutions, and a clear timetable for 20% enrichment capability, Mori says: “Our team has been fully dedicated to this market since 2023.”
Policy, production and transport
The US Energy Act of 2020 legislated for advanced reactor deployment support and followed by the Department of Energy’s HALEU Availability Program provided momentum to HALEU supply chains by directing funding and allocations to reactor developers. And, among the Executive Orders signed by President Trump in May 2025, the Reactor Pilot Program aims to fast-track commercial licensing for at least three advanced nuclear reactors by early July 2026.
Indeed, while multiple regions are expressing interest in advanced fuels, Urenco points to the North American ecosystem as a key market driver. “I think they’re paving the way,” Alison Poortman, VP, Advanced Fuels, Commercial, North America, says, adding: “There is definitely interest in Europe, Asia and worldwide, but the first entities will likely be US and Canada focused. Europe, so far, appears to be more of a smart follower than a trailblazer.”
However, the cornerstone of Urenco’s push into the higher enrichment market is its investment in a new HALEU facility in the UK at its Capenhurst site in Cheshire. The facility is being engineered to enrich uranium up to 20% ²³⁵U, using gas centrifuge technology based on existing Urenco designs but with modifications for higher criticality margins and dedicated auxiliary systems.
“Our first facility will be in the UK, at Capenhurst with enrichment up to 20%. We’ve started work on that project. Depth and ground-clearing and environmental studies are underway and production will begin in 2031,” notes Mori.
Costain has been named as the programme delivery partner by Urenco for an integrated programme of infrastructure investment, including developing the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the works and upgrades needed at Capenhurst.
Although based on established centrifuge technology, the HALEU plant is not simply a matter of adjusting setpoints on existing machines. Higher-assay material changes the criticality landscape and drives the need for new containment, instrumentation, transport pathways, waste management, analytical laboratories, and maintenance regimes.
As Mori notes: “Because of the higher enrichment, the criticality safety is something that needs to be readdressed and all the auxiliary systems also need to be dedicated to HALEU. The whole thing is a standalone unit within the boundary [of the existing Capenhurst facility].”
With new production solutions underway, transport is currently one of the most significant constraints in the HALEU ecosystem. The legacy 30B transport cylinder and associated licensing framework were not developed for 20% enriched material. Urenco has partnered with Orano to address this with two new cylinder designs, the 30B10 for enrichments up to 10% and the 30BX / DN30X for enrichments up to 20% “The 30BX is already NRC approved. The 30B10 is in ANSI approval status. Once it’s ANSI approved, we can work with the DOT and get that DOT authorised,” says Poortman.
Transport approvals must then also be sought in the UK to allow export of HALEU produced at Capenhurst.
Indeed, transport remains a potential bottleneck internationally. While HALEU supply is rapidly becoming policy priority in the US, export licensing in Europe remains comparatively slower. This is an area that will require time for alignment, although Urenco stresses it is working in close cooperation with regulators.
Aligning with technology vendors
Despite many ambitious projections, a great deal of uncertainty remains regarding how many advanced and small modular reactors will be deployed, when they will reach criticality, and which will proceed to commercial operation. Industry expectations have shifted repeatedly over the past decade, and supply chain companies must now balance readiness against exposure. Urenco acknowledges this dynamic but already has pragmatic choices should development timelines slip given the HALEU facility can technically produce LEU+ or LEU simply by adjusting machine parameters and feedstock. This provides flexibility in the event of a slower-than-expected HALEU ramp-up. “We can optimise the plant and be able to produce any level of LEU+ that we need to. If there aren’t reactor designs ready to take commercial quantities of fuel in 2031 we can make LEU or LEU+. We can store material. And we’ll also see where the rest of the supply chain is,” explains Mori, adding: “Even if, let’s say, there’s a two-year delay or a three-year delay, they will also need working inventory, they will need to feed every single stack of the supply chain so I don’t think that 2031 is necessarily too optimistic or too early.”
Urenco also emphasises modular construction in enrichment capacity. “The way we build everything is modular, so we can add on as needed to be able to support it. If we get demand for the market, we can double that volume,” adds Poortman.
And, while large-scale demand remains prospective, Urenco is already engaging in early commercial contracts aligned with the DOE’s initial HALEU allocations to reactor developers. “They’re getting some allocations from DOE to do testing, to do first criticality. On a commercial scale, we’ll see how the testing goes, but it’s absolutely real,” says Poortman.
The company announced the signing of its first HALEU agreement in September with Radiant, a California-based microreactor developer, which is among the DOE’s allocation recipients. The Radiant deal, which will support development of its Kaleidos microreactor, is the first binding commercial contract by a US advanced reactor developer for Western HALEU enrichment services.
In a statement Urenco Chief Executive, Boris Schucht noted this deal “represents a very positive step for the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the industry.”
Urenco has also confirmed several other entities have also received allocations and entered agreements with a mix of LEU+ and HALEU. And, in July, Aalo Atomics signed a contract with Urenco for delivery of LEU to 5% enrichment that will be fabricated into fuel pins to power the Aalo-X experimental reactor. This is an interim step towards the LEU+ enriched to 8% that will fuel its commercial Aalo Pod while using the same standardised fuel form.
Aalo says the contract is the first time a Western company has commercially sourced nuclear fuel for a next-generation power plant. By buying its fuel on commercial terms, Aalo adds that the move lets it sidestep potential supply chain bottlenecks and build momentum for a resilient Western fuel market. Aalo is already negotiating follow on agreements for 8% enriched UF₆.
This activity, Urenco argues, is a sign of how rapidly the market can move once policy and early testing milestones converge. As Poortman observes: “These companies acted really, really quickly and that is the promise and the challenge of this market. If they’re successful in modular construction, mass manufacturing, small components the vision is really to build hundreds or thousands of these. The supply chain then needs to step up quickly.”
Alongside HALEU, several reactor developers are also exploring the use of LEU+ for core physics testing prior to availability of full-assay HALEU. The may serve an interim role but does potentially have an economic impact.
“LEU+ can be used. It gives them some results but it decreases their margins in the long run, because they have to refuel more often,” explains Mori.
Nonetheless, this staged approach may help reduce timeline pressure on the HALEU supply chain while maintaining reactor programme momentum. LEU+ is advantageous to Urenco as well, because it can be produced using existing infrastructure without requiring the dedicated systems of the HALEU facility. That means the company can support early testing programmes without sacrificing long-term HALEU readiness.
The global opportunity
Although Capenhurst will host the world’s first commercial-scale HALEU centrifuge plant, Urenco anticipates that the next logical location for expansion is the United States.
“In my opinion, the next one would be in the US, because that’s where the market is evolving most rapidly,” says Poortman.
Urenco already operates enrichment facilities in the US in New Mexico and if HALEU demand accelerates significantly could be the likely candidate for a second dedicated facility. “We definitely have the competence, but also the space and the opportunity. There are learning opportunities as well, having done it once. So we expect the US plant to be a ‘copy and paste’,” Poortman adds.
Recently Urenco USA received authorisation from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to enrich uranium up to 10% ²³⁵U, which allows the company to become the first commercial uranium enricher to produce LEU+ in the USA. The NRC’s authorisation came after Urenco implemented changes in its plant systems and procedures and completed its operational readiness review. Initial production of LEU+ is expected to take place this year, with the first product deliveries to a fuel fabricator planned for 2026. Preparing for LEU+ production required the implementation of more than 30 new IROFS (Items Relied on for Safety) and more than 250 modifications to license basis and programme documents.
However, commercial justification remains the gating factor for further HALEU development. As Poortman notes: “We’ll have to see how good this commercial team is at creating an order book.”
While Urenco does not engage directly in fuel fabrication its customers are typically utilities or reactor developers which specify the downstream supply chain. Coordination with fabricators is nevertheless essential due to licensing constraints. HALEU-handling certification remains limited, and fabricators must secure the appropriate NRC or national licences to receive 20% enriched material.
“Making sure that they’re able to receive the material is key. You can’t ship something somewhere and they can’t get it,” says Mori.
This interdependency highlights the challenging nature of developing the entire HALEU ecosystem from scratch – enrichers, fabricators, reactor developers, and regulators must all align in time for demonstration reactors to proceed.
Even so, Urenco emphasises a general sense of industry optimism, reinforced by the pace of DOE allocations and the number of developers progressing to licensing workshops, test campaigns, and first-core engineering.
“If next year some of them are successful and reach criticality, it could move very quickly for them and that response time may not be as quickly as we can move,” says Mori. Indeed, market forecasting remains a substantial challenge across the sector but Urenco’s strategy has evolved into a coordinated multinational effort to deliver 20% enriched fuel by 2031, coinciding with the development timeframes for many of the first of a kind small modular reactors. With the vision build potentially thousands of SMR units in diverse applications over the coming years, the supply chain will need the flexibility to step up quickly above all else. Urenco believes it is positioning itself to do exactly that, meeting early demand with LEU+, enabling HALEU for demonstration reactors by 2031, and ready to scale as advanced fission transitions from concept to commercial reality.
