Laser enrichment

Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer, has joined GE and Hitachi as a co-owner of a new laser enrichment venture.

The demand for enriched uranium is projected to increase significantly in the next decade with the anticipated construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants.

In response, the US subsidiary of Canadian-based Cameco, Cameco Enrichment Holdings, has invested in GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), a company that is commercialising an enrichment process using laser technology to enrich uranium for nuclear power plants.

The process itself vapourises uranium hexafluoride into a gaseous form and then exposes it to a laser beam that preferentially excites the 235UF6 isotope, which enables separation of natural uranium into enriched and depleted uranium. The process operation, while technically complex, is potentially more efficient than existing centrifuge enrichment technology.

Cameco will now own 24 per cent of the company, with GE remaining the majority owner with a 51 per cent share. Tokyo-based Hitachi will own 25 per cent.