The update of the installed enrichment capacity, published as part of the annual update of the data on the stocks of fissile materials, does not fully reflect the plans of various companies to expand installed enrichment capacity. This post summarizes the information about these plans.
French group Orano has two expansion projects. One is to increase the capacity of the Georges Besse II plant in France "by more than 30%, corresponding to 2.5 million SWUs." The project will increase the capacity of the plant from the current 7,500 tSWU/y to 10,000 tSWU/y. The production is expected to start in 2028.
In the United States, Orano plans to build a new enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Another European company, Urenco, in April 2026 completed the first phase of the expansion of its US plant in Eunice, NM, which brought the capacity of the plant to 4,650 tSWU/y. It is expected to reach 5,000 tSWU/y in 2026-2027. The company also announced a plan to add another 2,100 tSWU/y to the plant in the future, bringing the total capacity to 7,100 tSWU/y.
In Europe, Urenco has several expansion projects. The plant in Almelo, the Netherlands, is adding capacity to reach about 6,600 tSWU/y by 2030 (from 5,100 tSWU/y in 2025). The capacity of the plant in Gronau, Germany, will increase from the current 3,400 tSWU/y to 3,700 tSWU/y in 2026-2027. The Urenco plant in Capenhurst, the United Kingdom, plans to add a line that will produce up to 27 tonnes of HALEU annually starting in 2031.
Centrus, which operates the American Centrifuge Plant at Piketon, Ohio, announced the plan to install a new cascade of 120 centrifuges, apparently at Piketon. The cascade is expected to produce 6,000 kg of HALEU a year. The existing cascade of 16 centrifuges is said to be capable of producing 900 kg of HALEU annually.
Another US company, BWXT, was awarded a contract to establish the supply of unobligated enriched uranium. As part of this effort, the company plans to build a pilot enrichment facility, known as Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE), in Erwin, TN. The capacity of the plant is not known.
Global Laser Enrichment has a plan to build the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF) in Paducah, Kentucky. The plant will use the Silex laser separation technology. The projected capacity of the plant has not been announced.
A new entrant to the US enrichment market, General Matter, expressed interest in the Paducah site as well. The company leased a parcel of land there from the DoE together with a stock of depleted uranium. It appears that the company is planning to produce HALEU.