Global Laser Enrichment has submitted its Safety Analysis Report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, completing its full license application for the planned Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility.
The step, detailed in a GLE release, marks a milestone for the more than $1 billion project, which has been in the works for over a decade. The SAR evaluates the facility's proposed security and safety measures, operational protocols and risk mitigation strategies, mapping out how it complies with the NRC's regulatory standards. The company filed its Environmental Report with the NRC in December.
GLE CEO Stephen Long emphasized the potential of the proposed facility to help answer the Trump administration's call for more nuclear fuel to speed energy developments across the U.S.
"This achievement reflects the significant commitment, dedication, and ingenuity of our remarkably talented team, who worked to prepare and deliver a high-quality application in a very short timeframe, six months ahead of schedule," he said in the release. "GLE's unique capabilities position the PLEF as a potential single-site solution for U.S.-based uranium, conversion, and enrichment production."
GLE inked a deal to re-enrich 200,000 metric tons of depleted uranium tails leftover from the operations of the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 2016, and company officials have been working to make the project happen for more than a decade. The company acquired 665 acres of land adjacent to the U.S. Department of Energy-maintained site last year.
The process of laser uranium enrichment – which has never been utilized at commercial scale – involves bombarding depleted tails with lasers to selectively vibrate only the uranium-235 molecules and then physically separating them from the inert uranium-238 molecules also present in spent nuclear fuel.
Studies have found that techniques utilizing laser enrichment need less space and power to operate than methods like gaseous diffusion or a gas centrifuge. Once the tails are restored to the level of natural uranium, they'll be used at other enrichment facilities or for fuel in nuclear power plants.
Nima Ashkeboussi, vice president of government relations and communications for GLE, said in an email the company expects the NRC review to take around 18 months. The release also framed GLE as being "first in line" with the regulatory agency to license a new enrichment facility, with the laser enrichment group on track to begin operations in Paducah by 2030.
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