European uranium enrichment company Urenco and the Netherlands’ BAM Bouw en Techniek have progressed engineering from Basic Design to Detailed Design for the construction of Hal 8 at Urenco’s Almelo enrichment facility in the Netherlands. BAM and Urenco signed the implementation agreement in July 2024 and BAM is now setting up the construction site for the start of work. BAM launched the implementation phase in January by driving the first foundation post. Work is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.
Urenco Nederland is Urenco’s Dutch enrichment site. The company also has facilities in Germany (Gronau), the UK (Capenhurst) and the US Eunice, New Mexico). This is the third investment approved under Urenco’s capacity expansion programme. In 2023, the first project was approved at its plant in Eunice providing an additional capacity of 700 tonnes of SWU (separative work units) a year. The plant currently has a capacity of 4,600 tonnes SWU a year. The first new cascades are due online this year. At its facility in Gronau, Germany, Urenco is re-fitting an existing space with more modern centrifuge technology to increase the capacity of the plant which currently stands at 3,600 tonnes SWU a year.
“This project is a nice continuation of our long-term collaboration with Urenco, with more than 25 years of experience in maintenance and projects for both BAM Bouw en Techniek and BAM Infra NL” said Eric Moleman, managing director at BAM Bouw en Techniek Projects. “The last production hall for Urenco was completed by us 12 years ago. We apply these strong partnerships, experience and knowledge that we have acquired and optimise where necessary in implementation of the new production hall.”
Hall 8 is more than a standard production hall with a length of around 200 metres and a width of 30 metres. It will include a complex structure with high demands on precision and safety. The hall is built according to the “box-in-box” principle, with a conditioned interior to ensure optimal process conditions. A high-quality floor finish with minimal tolerances is essential for the installation of the process installations. In addition to the production hall, a building for cooling installations will also be constructed.
