Westinghouse LEU+ fuel plant
Where it stands: Westinghouse is investing $1 billion in a new LEU+ nuclear fuel factory at its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina, the first fleet-scale US fuel plant in more than 50 years. Site preparation is finished and the company is pursuing an NRC licence amendment, targeting fuel enriched to 8% U-235 and 600 metric tons of uranium a year. Construction and production have not begun; watch for the licence application and a build schedule.
Latest
- 2026-10-23 (~9:45 AM ET, ANS — ans.org/news): the Oct 21 Westinghouse $1B LEU+ fuel plant at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina gained status detail — pre-construction preparation work complete on the site, NRC engagement running since 2024 ahead of a licence-amendment application on the existing facility licence, fuel enriched up to 8% U-235, 600 metric tons of uranium of fuel per year. Development: answers the Oct 21 watch in part — the regulatory path is now named (a licence amendment) with the 600 MTU/yr target on record; construction and production still announced, not built. Watch: amendment-application timing, a construction schedule, customer linkage to the operating fleet or the SMR cohort.
- 2026-10-21 (~10:36 AM ET, WNN — world-nuclear-news.org/articles): Westinghouse announced a USD 1 billion investment in the first new fleet-scale nuclear fuel factory to be built in the USA in more than 50 years, at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina (LEU+ fuel plant). Development: the thread's fuel-fabrication run — Kairos's Albuquerque pebble-inspection facility (Oct 14), Newcleo's MOX centre at Chusclan (Oct 15) — gains a large-reactor-scale US leg under an incumbent vendor; investment is announced, build and production not yet in evidence. Watch: scope, schedule, LEU+ volumes, customer linkage to the operating fleet or the SMR cohort.