Westinghouse Invests $1B in South Carolina LEU+ Plant

Westinghouse plans to invest about $1 billion to build a commercial-scale facility for producing low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+) fuel at its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina. Construction is underway, with operations expected to begin in 2030; the company says the expansion will increase U.S. production capacity, support existing reactors and aid the global deployment of its AP1000 reactors. Enriched to 5%–8%, LEU+ fuel could allow some plants to extend time between refueling outages and increase power output, subject to reactor design and regulatory approval. The project builds on the first U.S. deployment of LEU+ fuel in 2025.