Endless nuclear power: US tests world’s most powerful laser to enrich uranium
The TRL-6 phase constitutes a high-fidelity operational trial under conditions representative of scaled commercial deployment.
Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), holder of exclusive commercial rights to the SILEX uranium enrichment process, has commenced Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6) demonstration testing at its Test Loop facility in Wilmington, North Carolina.
This marks an important milestone in the operational maturation of third-generation enrichment capabilities and represents a strategic inflection point for US-based nuclear fuel resilience.
The TRL-6 phase constitutes a high-fidelity operational trial under conditions representative of scaled commercial deployment.
Laser uranium enrichment
According to GLE Chief Executive Officer Stephen Long, this milestone follows extensive system integration, engineering refinement, and iterative operational testing.
“This demonstration campaign is the culmination of years of technical advancement and operational discipline. We are now entering a phase of focused optimization, with iterative system tuning and data accumulation to fulfill the validation requirements of TRL-6,” said Long.
Key modifications have been integrated into the Test Loop to increase performance reliability.
These enhancements validate scale enrichment efficiency and inform downstream manufacturing processes for Kentucky’s full-scale Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF).
Independent engineering assessment—contracted by GLE’s joint venture stakeholders, Silex Systems Ltd, and Cameco Corporation, which will monitor and verify all test outcomes.