POWER June 2016 - 15

GE-Hitachi Exits Nuclear
Laser-Based Enrichment
Venture
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is pulling out of
Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), a company
that in 2012 got the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's (NRC's) unprecedented approval
to build and operate a full-scale laser
uranium enrichment facility. The move was
precipitated by a change in business priorities,
but it doesn't necessarily mean the
GLE's proprietary SILEX technology is dead.
GLE was born under GE's banner in early
2006 as it won exclusive rights to commercially
develop the SILEX laser isotope
separation process technology under an
agreement reached with Australia's Silex
Systems Ltd. The technology's most hailed
advantage was efficiency. All enrichment
around the world is performed by gas
centrifuge technology that was originally
developed in the 1940s, and enrichment
happens to be the most difficult and costly
step in making nuclear fuel for power
reactors, because about 35% to 40% of
total fuel costs are based on current market
prices, Silex explained. SILEX is the
" most cost-efficient method, " the company
said, noting that it is anticipated to
have the lowest capital costs of all enrichment
technologies.
Several entities have taken note of
these benefits. In October 2006, GE got
the U.S. government's backing to proceed
with the technology exchange, prompting
Hitachi and Canada's Cameco to join
the venture between 2007 and 2008. GE
currently has a 51% share in the venture,
Hitachi, 25%, and Cameco, 24%.
The company's SILEX technology got
another boost in September 2012, when
the NRC granted GLE a construction and
operation license-the first of its kind-
for a proposed facility that could be sited
on a 1,600-acre tract of land at the company's
global headquarters in Wilmington,
N.C., where GLE operated a fuel fabrication
plant. The company then embarked on a
three-phase program to commercialize the
technology, completing the first phase (a
test-loop demonstration) in 2013, and beginning
the second phase (economic and
engineering validation) that same year.
The third phase entails building a fullscale
commercial production facility.
In 2013, GLE submitted a proposal to
establish an additional uranium enrichment
facility at the Department of Ener5.
Consumed by market forces?
GE-Hitachi's withdrawal from Global Laser Enrichment,
a company that has exclusive rights
to commercially develop the SILEX laser isotope
separation process technology under an
agreement reached with Australia's Silex Systems
Ltd., may have a big impact on the thirdgeneration
uranium enrichment technology's
future. Courtesy: Silex Systems
gy's Paducah enrichment site in Kentucky
(the agency's first-generation gaseous diffusion
plant at that site was closed in May
2013). Negotiations for the GLE facility
are reportedly continuing: Silex Systems
in February 2016 reported that outcomes
were expected " in the next few months. "
Silex has also reported that GE-Hitachi's
FIND THE FAULT.
Ignore The Noise.
Megger's BGFT Battery Ground Fault Tracer is
designed to work in high electrical noise
environments. The ability to adjust the
strength of the test signal means you can rely
on correct testing results in any situation.
This functionality, combined with a
soft-charging system to prevent relay
tripping means you can find battery ground
faults in no time, so you can power on.
The word " Megger " is a registered trademark.
us.megger.com/bgft
CIRCLE 7 ON READER SERVICE CARD
June 2016 | POWER
www.powermag.com
13
http://us.megger.com/bgft http://www.powermag.com
POWER June 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER June 2016
