Nuclear fuel — Factorio Production Calculator
Nuclear fuel is crafted in the centrifuge in 90 seconds, producing 1 per craft from 1 × Uranium 235, 1 × Rocket fuel. At 60 per minute you need 90 centrifuges, and the chain behind it draws on 2 raw resources: light oil, uranium 235.
Production chain for 60 Nuclear fuel / minute
| Item | Per minute | Machines | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid fuel | 600 | 10 | Chemical plant |
| Nuclear fuel | 60 | 90 | Centrifuge |
| Rocket fuel | 60 | 30 | Assembling machine |
Raw materials
| Resource | Per minute |
|---|---|
| Light oil | 6,600 |
| Uranium 235 | 60 |
Machine counts are not rounded up. Add a little headroom in game — belt throughput and inserter speed usually mean you want 5-10% more than the exact number.
Nuclear fuel recipe
| Machine | Crafting time | Output | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centrifuge | 90 s | 1 | Uranium 235 × 1, Rocket fuel × 1 |
What the whole chain needs
60 nuclear fuels per minute pulls in 2 intermediate products, and the whole tree comes to 130 machines across 3 machine types, fed by 2 raw resources. The table above already sums demand across every branch — if copper cable is used by two recipes, you see the total, not one of them.
Belt check: the busiest input here moves 6,600 per minute, which is 7.33 of a yellow belt's 900 per minute. Above 1.0 and you need a second belt (or a faster tier) before the machines themselves become the limit.
What uses nuclear fuel
No base-game recipe consumes nuclear fuel — it is an end product. Once you build it, the chain stops here, which makes it a good target if you only want to size the sub-factory that feeds your mall.
What nuclear fuel is made from
- Rocket fuel — 1 per craft
FAQ
How many centrifuges do I need for 60 nuclear fuels per minute?
90 centrifuges. One at standard speed produces 0.7 per minute, so 60 ÷ that number is the count. The calculator above rounds nothing — add 5-10% headroom for belt and inserter losses in a real factory.
How much raw ore does nuclear fuel take?
At 60/min the chain consumes 6,600 light oil per minute, 60 uranium 235 per minute. Those numbers are the theoretical minimum — mining productivity research and productivity modules both reduce them.
Machine counts assume bare machines at standard speed. Recipe data comes from the game's own prototypes (PlayerCalc, Factorio 2.0 base game). Not affiliated with Wube Software.