ENUSA y los orígenes de la fabricación de combustible nuclear en España (ENUSA and origins of nuclear fuel manufacturing in Spain)

The purpose of this article is to explore the origins of industrial nuclear fuel fabrication in Spain. Founded in 1972 for centrally managing the nuclear fuel cycle, the Empresa Nacional del Uranio SA (ENUSA) agreed with the American multinationals Westinghouse and General Electric the assignment of licenses and technical assistance for manufacturing fuel assemblies for light water reactors (in its two variants, PWR and BWR). This is the only phase of the uranium cycle which ENUSA keeps today (Juzbado plant, Salamanca). In spite of the current energy crisis and the uncertainty of the nuclear option, the company has celebrated its 50th anniversary in a moment of success, as a result of its important export and technological activity in the nuclear, logistic and environmental fields.