Solstice plans expansion of US conversion facility

Solstice - which was spun-off from Honeywell in October last year - said it has invested in de-bottlenecking projects at Metropolis Works following its 2023 restart in response to strong customer demand for uranium hexafluoride (UF6). The company's expansion efforts, it said, are underpinned by its backlog of more than USD2 billion driven by orders from long-term customers, many of which are domestic utility companies, as well as the USA's policy goal of quadrupling American nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

Backed in part by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Solstice said it is "actively exploring additional projects" to increase production at its Metropolis Works facility. The company has also retained a leading engineering, procurement and construction firm to conduct an initial engineering analysis for new capacity expansion investments and, at the same time, has initiated long-term supply discussions with customers.

"Solstice has stepped up production of UF6, a critical component in the nuclear fuel supply chain, with the support of disciplined capital investments and improved operational excellence at our Metropolis Works facility," said Solstice President and CEO David Sewell. "Leveraging our 60-plus years of operational excellence, industry leadership and proprietary expertise, we are exceedingly well-positioned to ensure our capacity to produce converted uranium is aligned with the industry and its rapid expansion."

Metropolis was built in the 1950s to meet military conversion requirements, and began providing UF6 for civilian use in the late 1960s. Original nameplate capacity was up to 15,000 tU per year, but this was reduced to 7000 tU per year in 2017 in light of global demand. Honeywell announced in November 2017 the temporary suspension of UF6 production at Metropolis pending an improvement in business conditions. The decision was a result of "significant challenges" faced by the nuclear industry at that time, including a worldwide oversupply of UF6. The plant was restarted in July 2023.

ConverDyn, a partnership between Solstice and General Atomics, serves as the exclusive marketing agent for all UF6 produced at the Metropolis Works facility, which holds a license from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that is valid until 2060.

Uranium must be converted from uranium oxide - the "yellowcake" that is shipped from uranium mines and mills - to gaseous UF6 before it can be enriched in fissile uranium-235 for use in nuclear fuel. In addition to Metropolis, commercial conversion plants are also in operation in Canada, China, France and Russia.