Framatome has spent years upgrading its nuclear fuel manufacturing facility just north of Richland to prepare for the next generation of nuclear power – and those investments are beginning to pay off.

The company has signed its first contract to deliver nuclear fuel for an active U.S. nuclear reactor above the current standard 5% enrichment of uranium-235, according to a news release. That fuel, which will be manufactured at the Richland facility, will use Framatome’s Advanced Fuel Management program to deliver the fuel in the spring of 2028.

The deal comes weeks after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave approval for the Richland facility to manufacture fuel first above 5% enrichment and then up to 10%. The customer ordering the fuel was not disclosed.

“This contract reflects the strength of our long-standing relationship with our customer and our shared commitment to advancing nuclear fuel technology,” said Lionel Gaiffe, Framatome’s senior executive vice president, fuel business unit, in a statement. “Collaborating on this milestone project underscores the trust our customers place in Framatome’s expertise and the innovative capabilities of our Advanced Fuel Management technology.”

Framatome employs 580 people in Richland, where it produces uranium dioxide powder, pellets, fuel rods and fuel assemblies for commercial nuclear power plants worldwide.

Five percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. comes from fuel manufactured in Richland.  Running 24 hours a day, it produces 10 different types of fuel and a variety of arrays to fit different nuclear reactors, making the facility “reactor agnostic.” 

The Richland facility has spent millions of dollars on facility upgrades in recent years, including a $900,000 warehouse that further expands onsite storage. That project was expected to be completed in August.

Part of those upgrades were also to allow the Richland plant to use Framatome’s Advanced Fuel Management technology to manufacture this new fuel, which will extend the customer’s fuel cycle by six months, reducing outage frequency and improving fuel efficiency and power generation.

The company has recorded numerous accomplishments over the past 12 months as it seeks to build-out its capacity after decades of a stagnating domestic nuclear fuel market.

Framatome was one of a handful of companies announced in May to receive a share of $94 million in federal funding to expand fuel production for the next generation of nuclear power reactors. The funding is expected to go directly to the Richland plant to increase the number of ceramic pellet production lines, adding about 200 metric tons of uranium of annual capacity.   

In March, Framatome and NuScale Power Corp., based in Corvallis, Oregon, expanded their existing partnership, including putting the Richland facility on notice to fabricate fuel for NuScale’s small modular nuclear reactor fuel technology in the next five years.

In October 2025, Framatome announced a joint venture with Standard Nuclear, the United States’ only independent developer of TRISO fuel, made for the next generation of nuclear reactors.