The facility also would help support the country’s goal to reduce carbon emissions through the expanded use of nuclear energy, which creates virtually no greenhouse gases during the electricity generation process.
If approved, the company’s facility could help drive US job creation, including up to 300 permanent engineering and support staff positions and more than 500 construction jobs.
“Our goal is to enable an efficient and effective review of our innovative technology by providing a quality, complete application to the NRC,” said Tammy Orr, president and chief executive officer of the company. “Submitting the highest-quality product has been our priority for this significant licensing process milestone.”
The NRC’s estimated 30-month application review will officially begin once the agency formally dockets, or accepts, the Global Laser Enrichment application. On January 30, the company has submitted its environmental report for the proposed facility, representing a significant portion of the overall license application. The NRC had approved the early, partial submittal to add efficiency to its review process.
Global demand for low-enriched uranium is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.
Also, the anticipated construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants is expected to further intensify the demand for fuel.
”This is an exciting time in our industry,” Orr said. “As world leaders in innovation and technology, we have a unique opportunity to offer needed enrichment supply to nuclear operators meeting the challenges of energy security, climate change and increased demands for power.”
The company currently is in the pre-deployment stage of its enrichment test loop, which is designed to confirm the commercial feasibility of the technology and advance the design of the equipment, facility and processes for the planned production facility.
Global Laser Enrichment will use the information from the test loop in its evaluations of whether or not to proceed with the full-scale commercial facility. The plant would be co-located with 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.
If the decision is made to proceed with construction, the company commercial production facility would have a target capacity of three-to-six million separative work units (SWUs). A SWU is a unit measuring the energy used to enrich uranium, which is then fabricated into fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants.
In 2006, the company has acquired the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the third-generation uranium enrichment technology globally through a license from Silex Systems Ltd. of Australia. In 2008, Cameco has acquired a 24% ownership stake in Global Laser Enrichment.
