Germany's only uranium enrichment plant, operated by Urenco Deutschland since 1985 with about 3,400 tSWU/yr of capacity. Urenco is refitting existing space with new centrifuge cascades to lift capacity by around 20%, and commissioned an on-site uranium oxide storage facility in October 2026.
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Current state
| Status | Expanding |
| Country | Germany |
| Location | Gronau, North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Operator | Urenco Deutschland GmbH |
| Ownership | Part of Urenco Group (UK government, Dutch government, E.ON and RWE each one-third). |
| Facility type | Enrichment plant |
| Technology | Gas centrifuge |
| Products | LEU |
| Capacity (tSWU/yr) | 3,400 |
| License | Operating under an expansion licence granted in 2005. |
Notes
Urenco gives no absolute SWU figure for the Gronau expansion; its site page says 'around 20%'. IPFM estimates ~300 tSWU/yr (3,400 to 3,700 tSWU/yr in 2026-2027), roughly 9%, so sources disagree; target not recorded. Urenco Deutschland listed 3,600 tSWU in Jan 2025 per an archived page cited by IPFM.
Timeline
- 1985 — Enrichment operations at Gronau began. (source)
- 2005 — The plant's expansion licence was granted. (source)
- 2026-10-06 — Urenco officially commissioned a uranium oxide storage facility at Gronau. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
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Sources
- Urenco Deutschland (Germany) site page — Urenco (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Uranium oxide storage facility in Germany officially commissioned — Urenco (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- URENCO enrichment capacity expansion plans — International Panel on Fissile Materials, checked 2026-10-11
- Plans to expand the enrichment capacity — International Panel on Fissile Materials, checked 2026-10-11