Key facts
- Commercial enrichment is concentrated in four groups: Rosatom (Russia), Urenco (UK, Germany, Netherlands, USA), Orano (France) and CNNC (China).
- Conversion plants operate in Canada, China, France, Russia and the United States (World Nuclear Association, 2024).
- The WNA names Framatome, GNF, TVEL and Westinghouse as the four dominant light-water fuel suppliers.
- Capacity and ownership change. This page lists operators and sites, not licences or current output.
Three services, few suppliers
Between the mill and the reactor, uranium passes through three industrial services: conversion to UF6, enrichment and fuel fabrication. They are described step by step on the fuel production chain page.
The facilities that perform them are heavily licensed and relatively few in number. Many sit inside integrated groups that also trade uranium or build reactors. National regulators license each plant. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses fuel-cycle facilities and publishes lists of them.
This page uses the World Nuclear Association's compilations and the NRC list as sources. It avoids figures that cannot be dated. Ownership and plans change, so for a given site consult the operator's current statements and regulator filings.
Conversion plants
The World Nuclear Association's 2024 listing of commercial conversion operators gives the following.
| Operator | Country | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Cameco | Canada | Port Hope |
| CNNC (WNA estimate) | China | Lanzhou and Hengyang |
| ConverDyn | United States | Metropolis |
| Orano | France | Pierrelatte and Malvési |
| Rosatom (WNA estimate) | Russia | Seversk |
Most of these plants use a wet process involving solvent extraction. The Metropolis plant uses a dry process with distillation. Where the table shows an estimate, the WNA does not have operator-confirmed data.
The facilities differ in age and design. Cameco, Orano and the Chinese and Russian plants use the wet route. All of them make UF6, which then moves to an enrichment plant in steel cylinders.
Some enrichment sites also handle deconversion of depleted tails, which is a separate activity with its own plants. Only site names are given here. Capacities are stated on a licensed rather than operating basis, and they differ between sources.
Enrichment plants
All large commercial enrichment today uses gas centrifuges. The World Nuclear Association lists the operators and sites below, with its tabulated 2022 capacities in thousand SWU per year. SWU (separative work unit) measures the effort of enrichment. The CNNC figure is an estimate, and the total includes smaller operators.
| Operator | Sites | 2022 capacity (thousand SWU/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Rosatom | Russia: Novouralsk, Zelenogorsk, Angarsk, Seversk | 27,100 |
| Urenco | UK (Capenhurst), Germany (Gronau), Netherlands (Almelo), USA (Eunice, New Mexico) | 17,300 |
| CNNC | China | 10,613 (estimate) |
| Orano | France (Tricastin) | 7,500 |
| Others (INB, JNFL) | Brazil (Resende), Japan (Rokkasho) | 128 |
| Total | 62,641 |
The WNA also notes limited enrichment capability in Argentina (Pilcaniyeu), and in India, Pakistan and Iran. None of these sells enrichment services commercially.
Urenco has announced expansions at several sites, and other operators plan additions. The 2022 column will therefore understate later capacity. The WNA table also provides projections for later years.
The SWU unit is explained on the SWU calculator page. What a given volume of SWU produces is shown on the material balance page.
Fuel fabrication plants
Fabrication plants are usually tied to reactor designs, since fuel assemblies are specific to a reactor type. The World Nuclear Association identifies four dominant suppliers of light-water reactor fuel: Framatome, Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), TVEL and Westinghouse. It notes that GNF mainly serves boiling-water reactors and TVEL mainly pressurised-water reactors.
The WNA's list of light-water fabrication sites includes:
- Americas: Framatome in Richland (USA); GNF in Wilmington (USA); Westinghouse in Columbia (USA); INB in Resende (Brazil).
- Europe: Framatome in Romans (France) and Lingen (Germany); Westinghouse in Västerås (Sweden) and Springfields (UK); ENUSA in Juzbado (Spain).
- Russia and Kazakhstan: TVEL in Elektrostal and Novosibirsk; ULBA in Ust-Kamenogorsk.
- Asia: CJNF in Yibin and CNNFC in Baotou (China); Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel, NFI and GNF-J in Japan; KEPCO NF in Daejeon (Korea); the DAE Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad (India).
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's list of fuel fabrication facilities also names Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin, Tennessee, and BWXT Nuclear Operations Group in Lynchburg, Virginia, as Category I facilities. It describes GNF-Americas, the Westinghouse Columbia plant and Framatome in Richland as Category III low-enriched-uranium facilities.
The WNA also notes that fabrication capacity considerably exceeds demand. It puts demand at about 7,000 tonnes of enriched uranium a year for light-water reactors and about 3,000 tonnes a year for heavy-water reactors.
Concentration, dependencies and limits of this overview
Because so few firms operate each stage, the structure of supply is a regular topic of energy-security discussion. Disruptions or sanctions affecting one supplier can only be offset by others that have capacity of the right type and licences for the right enrichment level. Higher-enrichment products, such as fuel for advanced designs, need plants licensed and equipped for them.
These matters reach beyond a reference page. The commercial side, including how services are priced, is outlined on the fuel-cost page.
The list here is neither exhaustive nor a statement of current licensed or operating capacity. Plants not mentioned, including research and military facilities, are outside its scope.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the main commercial enrichers?
According to the World Nuclear Association: Rosatom, Urenco, CNNC and Orano, with smaller capacity in Brazil and Japan.
Where does Urenco operate?
Urenco enriches uranium at Capenhurst in the UK, Gronau in Germany, Almelo in the Netherlands and Eunice, New Mexico, in the United States.
Where is uranium converted to UF6?
The WNA lists conversion plants in Canada (Cameco, Port Hope), China (CNNC), France (Orano), Russia (Rosatom, Seversk) and the United States (ConverDyn, Metropolis).
Who makes light-water reactor fuel?
The WNA names Framatome, GNF, TVEL and Westinghouse as the four dominant suppliers, with additional national fabricators in Asia, Europe and elsewhere.
Does this page give current capacities?
Only dated, sourced figures are given: the WNA's 2022 enrichment capacities. Capacities and ownership change, so check operator and regulator sources for current data.
Sources and further reading
- World Nuclear Association — Conversion and Deconversion (2024)
- World Nuclear Association — Uranium Enrichment (2024)
- World Nuclear Association — Fuel Fabrication (2024)
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission — Fuel Fabrication Facilities (2024)
- World Nuclear Association — Nuclear Fuel Cycle Overview (2024)
- World Nuclear Association — Economics of Nuclear Power (2024)
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