The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted Framatome a licence amendment request (LAR) to manufacture nuclear fuel with uranium enrichment levels up to 10% at its Richland facility in Washington. This follows site wide approval in June to manufacture fuel enriched above 5% for the light water reactor (LWR) market.
The LAR approval authorises the production of TRISO (tristructural isotropic) fuel particles and uranium dioxide powder. Commercial manufacturing of the new advanced fuel lines is scheduled to begin in 2027. The approval expands domestic capacity for advanced reactor fuel and supports the acceleration of deployment of next-generation reactors.
The Richland site is now authorised to use its dry conversion process to convert uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to uranium oxide (UO2 and U3O8) powder for reactor types requiring enrichment levels higher than the existing LWRs, including the fabrication of TRISO fuel.
This is a major milestone for the Framatome and Standard Nuclear joint venture (JV), supporting on-time fuel delivery commitments. Under the JV agreement signed in 2025, Framatome and Standard Nuclear undertook to provide the market with competitive TRISO particles and various final fuel forms for advanced reactor operators, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and micro reactors.
The JV is governed by a board of directors composed of senior executives from both Framatome and Standard Nuclear. It combines Framatome’s extensive fuel cycle infrastructure with Standard Nuclear’s specialised technical manufacturing methods. The partnership is on schedule to start equipment commissioning in the near term and begin producing 2 tonnes a year of TRISO fuel, representing a significant increase on current capacity.
Approval for enrichment levels up to 10% also positions Framatome for future production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel types enriched up to 20%. The necessary equipment and systems have already been designed and analysed, allowing an additional licence amendment to follow quickly. Framatome has applied for US Department of Energy (DOE) HALEU availability funding.
“This is the latest step in reshaping the nuclear fuel market for the next generation of reactors,” said Lionel Gaiffe, Senior Executive Vice President of Framatome’s Fuel Business Unit. “Built on more than five decades of nuclear fuel manufacturing expertise, this approval uniquely positions us to deliver advanced fuel products to support the future of our industry.”
The approval follows an NRC exemplary Licensee Performance Review (LPR) in February, which confirmed that Framatome’s Richland site has maintained the highest possible safety and operational standards for two decades. Framatome officially announced this 10th consecutive exemplary LPR milestone in June.
The LPR extends a continuous 20-year record of flawless regulatory compliance after NRC identified no areas needing improvement across all evaluated sectors. The review assessed critical areas including safety operations, radiological controls, and facility support. This flawless record directly paved the way for NRC’s rapid approval of the 10% enrichment expansion.
