Don’t Bomb Iran

Few people realise  that revolutionary Australian laser technology  is on the verge of  producing enough enriched uranium to supply all of Austalia’s electricity needs, under licence in the US.

For years SILEX have semi-secretly developed laser uranium enrichment at Lucas Heights in Sydney, and their “test loop” commercial prototype is already operating in America, under an exclusive licence agreement with Global Laser Enrichment (GLE).   Results are so encouraging they applied to US nuclear regulators in 2009 to build a full-scale plant capable of producing 6 million SWUs of enriched uranium  Roughly 100,000 SWUs will run a 1,000 MW nuclear reactor for a year - the annual output will thus run about 50 large nuclear power plants.  NRC approval is expected in 2012, construction may begin before that, and in 2013 a major source of  US fuel will disappear when the downgrading  of old Soviet high-enriched warheads finishes - as General Electric helpfully points out.

Global Laser Enrichment is a business venture of  General Electric (51%), Hitachi (25%) and Canada’s  Camenco (24%)

Extracts from SILEX’s 2009 Uranium Enrichmen update

The Test Loop is designed to validate the commercial feasibility of the SILEX Technology and advance the design of the equipment, facility and processes for the planned commercial production facility.  GLE anticipates  obtaining sufficient data from the Test Loop by the end of 2009 to decide whether to proceed with plans for a full-scale commercial enrichment facility.

Progress with Commercial Production Facility Plans: A separate team continues to progress plans for a commercial production facility in parallel with Test Loop activities. If a decision is made to proceed with a commercial facility, GLE plans to co-locate the facility on the site of the existing nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities of Global Nuclear Fuel and the new plants and services business of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, headquartered in Wilmington N.C. Subject to the decision to proceed, the GLE commercial production facility would have a target capacity of 3.5 million to 6 million separative work units (SWU’s).  A SWU is a unit measuring the energy used to enrich uranium, which is then fabricated into fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants.

As previously disclosed (refer ASX release 31/7/09), GLE is expected to refine its projected schedule at  the end of 2009.  If the decision is made to proceed with the commercial production facility, the schedule would be determined in part by the licensing process, expected to take approximately 30 months from August 17, 2009, the date that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) formally accepted the license application submitted by GLE.  Accordingly, GLE would expect the timing for receiving an NRC license to be the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012.  Subject to proceeding,  GLE could begin construction of  certain ancillary facilities with NRC permission  including site preparation,  prior to receiving the license. More detailed information on the schedule is expected to be available from GLE in late 2009.

Tags: australia, canada, uranium enrichment