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Inside the Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain

The Liverpool Consular Corps was recently hosted by Urenco UK at its Capenhurst site on the Wirral.

The Urenco Group is a multi-national limited company, majority owned by the UK and Dutch government and two German electric utilities, and operates enrichment sites in four countries.

Capenhurst operates three uranium enrichment plants supplying fuel for civil nuclear power generation around the world, with a current production capacity of around 4,500 tonnes of separative work per year. Alongside this long established production, the site is developing advanced fuel capabilities to serve a newer generation of reactor technologies.

For the Corps, the visit was a rare opportunity to see first hand how one of the most sensitive parts of the civil nuclear supply chain operates: the physical infrastructure, the security and safeguards culture surrounding it.

The half day at Capenhurst made plain how much long-term planning and international cooperation are involved in ensuring energy security, and how few places in the world are equipped to do this work at all. We came away with a considerably sharper sense of how much rests on that capability.

What also struck us was Urenco's role as an employer with a long-term outlook: staff routinely stay for decades, and the site sustains a substantial apprenticeship intake. The technical work at Capenhurst depends on this retained expertise.

Visits like this give consuls a clearer picture of the region's major employers and strategic sectors. In return, companies meet a group of representatives whose particular value lies in connecting regional expertise with international networks. Conversations that begin on a site visit can resurface later as research partnerships, commercial introductions or contributions to policy dialogue.

Our thanks go to Joseph Priestley and colleagues at Urenco UK, who were exceptionally knowledgeable hosts.

The Liverpool Consular Corps is grateful to Urenco UK for opening its doors to us.