Canada’s Cameco Corporation said yesterday that it is joining a uranium enrichment business venture in the US which will extend the company's involvement in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Cameco said it had finalised an agreement with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) whereby a Cameco subsidiary will provide 123.8 million US dollars (79,000,000 euro) to acquire a 24 percent interest in Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) based in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The remainder of GLE is owned indirectly by General Electric Company (51 percent) and Hitachi Ltd (25 percent). Cameco is utilising its existing credit facilities to fund the acquisition and said it did not expect to incur further development and commercialisation costs relating to GLE until 2010.
GLE is developing a third-generation uranium enrichment process using laser technology to commercially enrich uranium for nuclear power plants. GLE is working on commercial facility licensing activities to support its projected start-up date of 2012 and expects to achieve commercial production in 2013.
GLE would be responsible for marketing all the enrichment services from the plant.
“This investment further expands and integrates Cameco's interests in the nuclear fuel cycle as we pursue our objective to be a leading nuclear energy company, producing uranium fuel and generating clean electricity,” said Cameco’s president and chief executive officer Jerry Grandey.
In addition to the ownership of GLE, Cameco and GLE signed an agreement to pursue and collaborate on “complementary business opportunities” in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Specifically, both sides could choose to market uranium and enrichment services together to satisfy potential customer demand for bundled services.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
US Utilities Show Support For Laser Enrichment Technology (News No. 219, 4 October 2007)
