UK-based infrastructure company Costain has been chosen to design an advanced fuels production facility for uranium enrichment company Urenco. Costain’s multi-disciplinary in-house civil nuclear and engineering team will carry out the front-end engineering design (FEED) for Europe’s first High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Advanced Fuels Facility.

The new facility, to be built at Urenco’s Capenhurst site in Cheshire, will produce the specialist fuel to support the development and deployment of next generation of nuclear reactors and the associated global export opportunities.  Costain is expected to complete the FEED in 2027.

In March, Urenco selected Costain as programme delivery partner to deliver new and upgraded infrastructure at Urenco Capenhurst over the next three years. Costain will lead and deliver an integrated programme of Urenco’s infrastructure investment activities, including developing the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of works and upgrades at Capenhurst.

Sam White, Managing director, natural resources at Costain, noted: “Ensuring the UK’s supply of advanced nuclear fuel will be critical for powering the next generation of reactors including advanced modular reactors (AMRs) and small modular reactors (SMRs). Our expert engineers will work collaboratively with Urenco and the wider supply chain to design a state-of-the-art fuel facility. Constructability will be at the heart of the designs to make this concept a reality.”

In January 2024, the UK government announced a £300m ($393m) funding programme to develop a HALEU industry as part of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ’s) plans to accelerate the development of a civil HALEU commercial market. In May 2024, £196m of the total funding was earmarked for advanced fuels at Urenco’s Capenhurst enrichment facility, targeting first operations in 2031.

HALEU – uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235 – is needed for many of the next-generation reactor designs currently under development. At present, only Russia and China have the infrastructure to produce HALEU at scale.

Urenco is one-third owned by the UK government, one-third by the Dutch government and one-third by two German utilities, EOn SE and RWE AG. It has enrichment facilities in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the US. In addition to the expansion project at Capenhurst Urenco is also adding new capacity at its plant in Eunice, New Mexico, in the USA, and at its Almelo plant in the Netherlands. In Germany, at its Gronau site, Urenco is restructuring and upgrading the plant to increase its capacity.

Further reading: Urenco’s HALEU ambitions