• Uranium Enrichment

(Updated February 2019)

• Most of the 500 commercial nuclear power reactors operating or under construction in the world today require uranium 'enriched' in the U-235 isotope for their fuel.
• The commercial process employed for this enrichment involves gaseous uranium in centrifuges. An Australian process based on laser excitation is under development.
• Prior to enrichment, uranium oxide must be converted to a fluoride so that it can be processed as a gas, at low temperature.
• From a non-proliferation standpoint, uranium enrichment is a sensitive technology needing to be subject to tight international control.
• There is a significant surplus of world enrichment capacity.