Framatome's nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Richland, Washington, achieved a major licensing milestone with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval of a license amendment request (LAR) enabling the site to manufacture fuel with uranium enrichment levels up to 10%. This approval expands domestic capacity for advanced reactor fuel and supports the acceleration of deployment of next-generation reactors.
Following last month's site wide approval to manufacture fuel enriched above 5% for the light water reactor (LWR) market, the Richland facility has now received a second approval specifically focused on 10% enrichment fabrication operations for advanced reactors. Together, these two milestones reinforce Framatome's commitment to supporting both the existing reactor fleet and the next generation of nuclear energy technologies.
The NRC's approval of the new LAR authorizes the site to utilize its industry-leading dry conversion process to convert uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to uranium oxide (UO2 and U3O8) powder for reactor types requiring enrichment levels even higher than the existing LWRs, including the fabrication of Tri-Structural Isotropic (TRISO) fuel. The LAR approval is a major milestone for the Framatome and Standard Nuclear joint venture, supporting on-time fuel delivery commitments.
Approval for enrichment levels up to 10% also positions Framatome for future production of HALEU(1) fuel types enriched up to 20%. The necessary equipment and systems have already been designed and analyzed, allowing an additional license amendment to follow quickly. In this regard, Framatome has applied for a U.S. 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.”
In 2025, Framatome and Standard Nuclear signed a joint venture agreement – a reactor-agnostic collaboration – committed to bringing the most competitive TRISO (particles and various final fuel forms) to market for advanced reactor operators, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and micro reactors. The partnership is on schedule to start equipment commissioning in the near term and begin producing metric ton levels of TRISO fuel annually, representing a significant scale-up from current capacity to supply the incoming fleet of advanced reactors in the U.S.
The 10 CFR Part 70 License amendment(2) for Framatome's Richland, Washington, nuclear fuel manufacturing facility was submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in September 2024. The site plans to commence manufacturing UO2 powder and TRISO particles in 2027 to meet current demand.
This announcement follows the recent NRC exemplary Licensee Performance Review (LPR) for the site from the U.S. NRC, extending a 20-year record with no areas identified as needing improvement.
Framatome's Richland facility has been a leader in nuclear fuel manufacturing for more than 55 years. The site employs more than 600 professionals who are committed to safety, innovation and unmatched regulatory excellence while delivering the most advanced nuclear fuel solutions.
(1) HALEU stands for High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium, which is a type of nuclear fuel enriched between 5% and less than 20% uranium-235. This level of enrichment is necessary for most U.S. advanced reactors to achieve smaller designs that generate more power per unit of volume.
(2) Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 70 establishes procedures and criteria for the issuance of licenses to receive title to own, acquire, deliver, receive, possess, use, or transfer special nuclear materiall (SNM).