US advanced materials company ASP Isotopes has successfully restarted the first 18 stages of its Silicon-28 enrichment facility in Pretoria, South Africa, according to Yahoo Finance, following nine months of engineering modifications that resolved performance issues with non-core components including valves, compressors and piping.

The restarted stages have operated at target enrichment levels for over three weeks. The same engineering enhancements are now expected to be applied to the facility's remaining stages to enable full commercial production. The company holds three signed commercial contracts for enriched Silicon-28 supply to US-based customers, with initial shipments targeted for Q3 2026.

Head of engineering Heino Van-Wyk said: "While the core enrichment technology has been operating in line with our expectations, many of the non-core components did not operate in line with the specifications provided by the OEM suppliers. The engineering team have worked tirelessly over the last nine months to correct these peripheral issues to construct a plant that is designed to be safe and efficient."

ASP Isotopes first shipped enriched Silicon-28 samples to a US customer in August 2025, with independent analysis confirming enrichment levels aligned with theoretical calculations.

Enriched Silicon-28 is gaining strategic significance across two critical technology sectors. In quantum computing, its purity allows qubits to maintain their entangled state for significantly longer, addressing a persistent barrier to real-world commercial deployment. In conventional semiconductors, the material's superior heat conduction and dissipation properties offer potential improvements to performance and reliability.

The facility's progress positions ASP Isotopes at the intersection of quantum computing and advanced semiconductor supply chains as demand for critical materials accelerates globally.

Read the full technical breakdown of ASP Isotopes' enrichment facility restart in the complete coverage.