On September 17, 2025 Australia's Silex Systems Limited advised that Global Laser
Enrichment (GLE) the exclusive licensee of the SILEX uranium enrichment
technology, completed the large-scale enrichment demonstration testing
campaign at its Test Loop facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. GLE has
collected extensive performance data providing confidence that its laser-based
uranium enrichment process will achieve TRL-6 demonstration status and can be
commercially deployed.
GLE will continue its demonstration program through the
course of CY2025, producing hundreds of kilograms of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU),
while continuing toward building a US domestic manufacturing base and supply
chain to support deployment of US domestic enrichment capacity. The results of
the large-scale demonstration are subject to assessment by an independent
engineering contractor, with GLE expecting to receive the completed TRL-6
assessment report by the end of CY2025.
BACKGROUND
https://www.silex.com.au/silex-technology/silex-uranium-enrichment-technology/
"Silex invented and developed the ‘SILEX’ laser isotope
separation technology in Sydney during the 1990’s. The uranium enrichment
application of the SILEX technology was licensed exclusively in 2006 to Global
Laser Enrichment LLC (‘GLE’), a joint venture business today owned by Silex
(51%) and Cameco Corporation (49%). GLE is the commercialisation vehicle for
the SILEX uranium enrichment technology and is based in Wilmington, North
Carolina.
The development and commercialisation program for the SILEX
uranium enrichment technology is being undertaken jointly by Silex (at its
Lucas Heights, Sydney facility) and GLE.
Silex and GLE have continued to accelerate construction of full-scale laser and separator equipment being deployed in GLE’s Test Loop facility in Wilmington, with the aim of completing a commercial-scale pilot demonstration (TRL-6) of the SILEX technology around mid-2025, with the completion of the TRL-6 demonstration subject to an independent assessment and report. Attaining the TRL-6 level is a key milestone in the de-risking of the SILEX technology before the focus turns to the potential preparation for, and construction of, the first commercial SILEX uranium enrichment plant at the [Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF)]...
… The Separation of Isotopes by Laser EXcitation (SILEX) process is the only third-generation enrichment technology known to be in the advanced stages of commercial development today. The SILEX technology can effectively enrich uranium through highly selective laser excitation of the 235UF6 isotopic molecule to produce ‘reactor fuel grade’ uranium which contains an assay of U235 of around 5%. UF6 is the fluorinated gaseous form of uranium, which is made via chemical conversion from the uranium oxide produced by miners.
The two methods of uranium enrichment used to date are Gas Diffusion (first generation – obsolete) and Gas Centrifuge (second generation). Silex’s third-generation laser-based process provides much higher enrichment process efficiency [within the US potentially right up to >90% HEU for nuclear weapons or for US/UK submarine reactor fuel] compared to these earlier methods, potentially offering significantly lower overall costs."
See the later article "Australian Invented SILEX Process Also For Weapons Grade HEU?" of September 23, 2025 at https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2025/09/australian-invented-silex-process-also.html .
8 comments:
"A type of nuclear reactor that can be used in submarines
was possibly supplied to North Korea from Russia,
according to a report. The recent claim has been made by
the South Korean military.
Intelligence from Seoul suggested that Moscow possibly
supplied nearly two to three nuclear submarine modules
to Pyongyang."
See:
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325884/russia-suspected-helping-north-korea-build-nuclear-submarines-seoul-investigating
&
https://interestingengineering.com/military/north-korea-submarine-nuclear-reactor
Uranium is set to become more commonplace, since any country with a
coastline can acquire it now:
"Chinese researchers have a new method to extract uranium from seawater
twice as cheaply as previous technologies. Their success comes as China
needs uranium to fuel its unprecedented nuclear expansion"
See:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2479709-new-way-to-pull-uranium-from-water-can-help-chinas-nuclear-power-push/
and
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50951-4
Hi Pete,
The decommissioned Russian modules will likely be used for North Korean nuke engineers to learn from, but we don’t know the full story - the modules could be unused components from the Amur shipyards, or from submarines scrapped in the Russian Far East, so NK could get a second hand parts kit and assemble something that works.
India returned the Chakra II/Nerpa in 2021, and she sat dockside for at least three years, so she could provide ‘scrap’ parts:
https://defence.in/threads/mystery-surrounds-future-of-ins-chakra-ii-as-satellite-imagery-reveals-it-sits-idle-at-russian-naval-base.11835/
South Korea now has a commercial SMR design, and could build an LNG carrier in the near future as a prototype. This has obvious implications to submarine naval reactors.
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/korean-designed-nuclear-powered-lng-carrier-certified
Hi Anonymous at 9/19/2025 6:08 PM
I don't know whether "modules...comprising reactor cores, turbines and cooling systems removed from decommissioned Russian submarines." would truly be a modular concept - given all the electronic propulsion and hotel load control systems required, which would extend into the mid-front command centre half of a nuclear sub.
Also NK's ability to reverse engineer, retrofit, repair or upgrade decades old nuclear powered systems into an old or new build SSBN is doubtful.
However, this intelligence might be advantageous for South Korea (SK) given SK has been pressing the US for years to be permitted to develop nuclear powered SSNs and especially SSBNs. See https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2020/10/leu-more-acceptable-for-south-korean.html
Given AUKUS now permits the US and UK to sell submarine HEU reactors to Australia (and if there is any truth in old Russian submarine reactors for NK) then France selling submarine K15 LEU reactors to SK might be increasingly equitable in proliferation terms.
Cheers Pete
Hi Shawn at 9/19/2025 7:30 PM
Yes, there are possibilities NK could use old reactor parts.
But NK would face a new level of complexity in reverse engineering, retrofitting, repairing or upgrading decades old submarine reactors.
Thanks for https://defence.in/threads/mystery-surrounds-future-of-ins-chakra-ii-as-satellite-imagery-reveals-it-sits-idle-at-russian-naval-base.11835/ . Old or refurbished Russian Akula-class SSNs or Delta-class SSBNs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta-class_submarine or their reactors are possibilities for gifting/selling to North Korea .
Maybe the transfers would come with Russian technicians and shipyard workers to help North Korea do the NK-SSBN upgrades/repairs.
Thanks for https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/korean-designed-nuclear-powered-lng-carrier-certified If the reactor they mention is 30 to 75 MW (ELECTRICAL) then that may be sufficient for a South Korea SSBN.
In 2020 I published on South Korea's small "SMART reactor", DSME's civilian "Nuclear Propulsion Ship" proposal and the SK submarine reactor concept - see https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2020/08/s-korean-japanese-nuclear-submarine.html . The future KSS-III Batch 3 is likely already a paper and computer generated design as nuclear powered.
Cheers Pete
Hi Pete,
It took me a bit of searching, but I found that Samsung Heavy Industries signed a partnership with Seaborg to develop power station barges with 200-800 MWe power generation.
https://enmobile.prnasia.com/releases/apac/korea-hydro-nuclear-power-samsung-heavy-industries-and-seaborg-technologies-form-consortium-to-develop-cmsr-based-floating-nuclear-power-plants-401006.shtml
The S9G reactor in the Virginia class is estimated to generate 210MWe, while the K15 reactor in the Suffren-class is estimated at 150MWE
Thanks Shawn at 9/20/2025 6:47 AM
SK has competed against its "frenemy" Japan on nuclear innovations for decades. eg. Japan operated the failed Mutsu nuclear powered ship between the 1970s-90s https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2016/06/japanese-nuclear-propulsion-1-mutsu.html
Note that Russia's Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation, has operated a semi-successful floating nuclear power station since 2019. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_floating_nuclear_power_station :
"On 14 September 2019, Russia’s first-floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, arrived to its permanent location in the Chukotka region.[4] It started operation on 19 December 2019.[5]"
The US S9G reactor "is estimated to generate 210 megawatts [THERMAL](MWt) driving a 30 MW[e = ELECTRICAL]...propulsion system" see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S9G_reactor
The K15 is 150 MW THERMAL while its MWe is officially unknown (maybe 150 x 1/7 = 21.5 MWe)
Cheers Pete
Beware the Russia/China alliance:
"Chinese and Russian submarines have conducted a joint patrol, in the latest
step in a growing Sino-Russian partnership.
While the exercise only involved two subs, the warning was clear: America
should contemplate the prospect of confronting a China-Russia alliance."
See:
https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2025/09/22/china-and-russia-conduct-joint-sub-patrols-should-america-worry/
Post a Comment