A laser method for enriching uranium moves toward commercial testing

Global Laser Enrichment is preparing a commercial-scale test of laser uranium separation, a possible route to cheaper nuclear fuel.

A company called Global Laser Enrichment is preparing to test laser-based uranium enrichment at commercial scale. The technique uses lasers to separate usable uranium from a mixture that includes old waste, an alternative to the centrifuge methods that dominate today's fuel supply. Nuclear power currently provides about 9% of global electricity.

Enrichment is a bottleneck in the nuclear fuel chain, and the cost and difficulty of separating uranium isotopes shapes the economics of the whole sector. A laser method that can draw usable fuel from existing waste stockpiles could lower that cost while making use of material that already exists rather than requiring fresh mining.

Cheaper fuel matters for abundance because nuclear is one of the few sources of firm, low-carbon electricity — power available around the clock regardless of weather. Anything that trims the cost of keeping reactors fueled makes that steady output more competitive, which touches the energy need directly.

The caveats are substantial. This claim reaches us through a newsletter summarizing other outlets' reporting, not primary coverage, and the commercial-scale testing has not yet begun. Laser enrichment has been pursued before without reaching widespread deployment. Watch whether GLE's testing starts and what it demonstrates about cost and throughput.

Source: MIT Tech Review