Lasers & Sources

Laser uranium enrichment plant licensed by US NRC

Sept. 26, 2012

Washington, DC--Following decades in development, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a license to GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) to construct and operate a commercial uranium enrichment plant using molecular laser isotope separation technology.

Conard Holton

Washington, DC--Following decades in development, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a license to GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE) to construct and operate a commercial uranium enrichment plant using molecular laser isotope separation technology known as Silex. The plant will be constructed on 100 acres of the 1,600 acre GE campus north of Wilmington, NC, which is also home to GE Nuclear's world headquarters, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and a GE Aviation facility.

The license authorizes GLE to enrich uranium up to 8 percent by weight in the fissile isotope U-235, using the laser-based technology. This low-enriched uranium will be used in fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors.

The Silex technology has been licensed from Australian scientists Michael Goldsworth and Horst Struve, who founded Silex Systems Ltd (ASX: SLX; Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia). Details are highly classified as well as proprietary, but it’s believed to rely on 16 µm excitation of UF6 molecules containing U-235, followed by a second excitation step that frees a fluorine atom from the excited molecules, producing solid UF5 that settles out from the gaseous UF6.

Silex says only that its process can increase U-235 concentration by a factor of 2 to 20, but the exact number is classified. In any case, that’s a higher factor than the 1.3 for centrifuge enrichment and 1.004 for gaseous diffusion. Such a high enrichment factor would reduce both capital equipment and operating costs, giving lasers an advantage over the older processes.

The plant and the Silex process have been controversial because, with little known about Silex technology, assessing its potential impact on nuclear proliferation is difficult.

Chris Monetta, President and CEO of GLE says, “The technology we’ve developed could be one of the keys to the USA’s long-term energy security. At a minimum, it could provide a steady supply of uranium enriched right here in the USA to the country’s nuclear reactors. These reactors provide approximately 20 percent of the nation’s electricity today and will continue to be an important part of the energy mix for decades to come.”

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.