Enrichment

The industrial process of raising the share of the fissile isotope uranium-235 in a batch of uranium above its natural abundance of about 0.7%, usually by spinning uranium hexafluoride gas in centrifuges. The enrichment level decides which category the fuel falls into. Anything below 20% uranium-235 is low-enriched uranium; within that, this site separates conventional fuel up to 5%, LEU+ at 5 to 10% and HALEU at 5% to just under 20%. Uranium at 20% or more is highly enriched. The effort needed is measured in separative work units and rises steeply with the target level. Enrichment is the chokepoint of the fuel cycle: it needs specialised, tightly controlled facilities, and Western capacity for the HALEU band is currently thin relative to the demand advanced reactor designs are creating.

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