How lasers could help provide fuel for nuclear reactors. Companies are developing new enrichment technology that could unlock previously overlooked resources.

Outside the small town of Paducah, Kentucky, a wealth of uranium is locked away in thousands of storage cylinders filled with waste material from a now-closed nuclear enrichment facility. Lasers could help get it out. A company called Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) is looking to reprocess this old material with a new technology called laser enrichment.

Nuclear power provides about 9% of global electricity today, and that fraction could tick up as major world powers like the US and China look to build new reactors, including some based on next-generation technology. New, cheaper methods to obtain fuel could help ensure that those nuclear projects stay on track.

Today’s conventional enrichment process uses centrifuges, which spin uranium-containing material around quickly, separating out heavier U-238 from lighter U-235. Laser enrichment, however, is more precise and can selectively target molecules containing U-235 with a laser, making the separation process easier.

The details of GLE’s specific technology are classified, but it claims that laser enrichment could be more efficient than conventional methods, allowing for the reprocessing of old nuclear waste. Since the start of the Ukraine war, countries including the US and UK have taken steps to limit or ban imports of Russian uranium, opening up new opportunities for companies like GLE.