Uranium production

Global Laser Enrichment has completed its application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to build the world's first commercial laser-based uranium enrichment facility.

The proposed facility, which would produce a new supply of low-enriched uranium for nuclear power plants, would be built in Wilmington, North Carolina.

In the new process, uranium hexafluoride would be vaporised into a gaseous form and exposed to a laser beam that would then preferentially excite the 235UF6 isotope, which would enable a separation of natural uranium into enriched and depleted uranium.

The process, while technically complex, is potentially more efficient than existing second-generation centrifuge enrichment technology.

GLE is implementing a three-phase approach to commercialising the laser enrichment technology: first it will complete a test loop, then construct the initial commercial cascade and finally build a full-scale commercial production facility.

The company will use the information from the test loop in its evaluations of whether or not to proceed with the full-scale commercial facility.