What does uranium enrichment mean?

Natural uranium is only about 0.7% fissile U-235; enrichment — usually with high-speed centrifuges — raises that to the 3–5% most reactors need, or up to just under 20% (HALEU) for many advanced designs. It's a refined, precise technology that the world has run safely for decades.

It is dual-use — pushed far enough it can make weapons material — so it's watched closely, and rightly so. But robust international safeguards have a strong track record, and a healthy commercial enrichment industry is exactly what's needed to fuel the coming wave of advanced reactors.