US-based laser enrichment technology start-up LIS (Laser Isotope Separation) Technologies (LIST) has begun site preparation work at its 206-acre LIST Island in the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) Heritage Center in Oak Ridge. This will include comprehensive environmental assessments and site-specific technical feasibility studies for LIST’s planned LEU-3 commercial laser-based uranium enrichment headquarters and technical campus. It will house Project FUEL (Future Uranium Enrichment with Lasers) and support long-term operational and research objectives.
“This is a huge step forward for our team and our company,” said Jay Yu, Executive Chairman and CEO of LIS Technologies. “We are looking to build back the United States uranium enrichment capabilities, and that starts with the LEU-3 Facility and Project FUEL right here in Oak Ridge, the birthplace of the United States nuclear industry.”
LIST is investing $1.38bn in the LEU-3 Facility, the central operational hub for Project FUEL, which is intended to become the world’s first US-origin commercial plant based on laser isotope separation technology. The plant is engineered for a capacity of 5.5m separative work units (SWU). It is optimised to produce both standard low-enriched uranium (LEU) for existing commercial nuclear reactors and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced microreactors. LIST is anticipating construction and initial commercial operations by the early 2030s.
The enrichment plant will be built on the footprint of the legacy K-25 uranium enrichment site, where the company acquired the 206-acre Duct Island (now renamed LIST Island) for $8m. The K-25 gaseous diffusion enrichment plant supplied fuel for the first atomic bombs. After World War II, it continued producing enriched uranium for defence and commercial nuclear power purposes until it ceased operations in 1985 and was permanently shut down in 1987. Due to environmental hazards and structural deterioration, the original building was demolished in 2013, and cleanup was completed by 2020. The ETTP site is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
Following its founding in 2023, LIST selected the recently renovated K-1330 building (originally a supporting facility for K-25) to serve as its corporate headquarters and laser enrichment research and development laboratory. The facility reached full operational capability for handling nuclear material in December 2025, when LIST secured a Radioactive Material License from the State of Tennessee.
The facility serves as the primary technical testing environment where LIST’s team refines and validates its proprietary, patented laser isotope separation technology. The data and testing breakthroughs achieved inside K-1330 are currently being used to guide the development and deployment of Project FUEL.
“These initial steps mark the beginning of a long-term vision for our 206-acre LIST Island,” said Christo Liebenberg, LIST President & Co-Founder. “Today, the site consists of little more than access roads, but the vision for our LEU-3 Facility and the home of Project FUEL is beginning to take shape. Our ultimate goal is to establish an integrated, domestic nuclear fuel capability – from uranium enrichment through deconversion – that can help supply the fuel needed to support America’s existing nuclear fleet and the next generation of advanced reactors.”
Julie Olivier, LIST Director for Licensing & Regulatory Affairs noted: “We are progressing with the environmental characterisation of LIST Island in order to support an Environmental Impact Statement from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). LIST Island has already been heavily studied in the past, and our current data is proving it to be an ideal spot to locate our advanced technology. We anticipate completing data collection in the next few months, followed by submittal of Environmental Report to NRC in or around 2027.”
Earlier in August, LIST also acquired the newly-renovated, 37,800-square-foot K-1580 building (another K-25 support facility) at ETTP for $6.2m. K-1580 will complement the adjacent K-1330 test facility. The acquisition will enable LIST to engage in the production of key stable and medical isotopes (Project SMILE), expanding its product offering beyond enriched nuclear fuel.
The company employs a patented process known as CRISLA (Chemical Reaction by Isotope Selective Laser Activation), invented by Dr Eerkens, which uses infrared lasers to selectively excite molecules of specific isotopes for separation. LIST says the technology has been determined to meet all elements required for Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL-4), conforming to DOE’s guide DOE G 413.3-4A. The technology has already matured to approximately 75% TRL-5, with excellent progress also towards TRL-6. LIST’s laser-based isotope separation technology is designed to potentially deliver greater efficiency, improved scalability, and a reduced facility footprint compared with conventional methods.
In 2024, LIST was selected as one of six domestic companies to participate in the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) Enrichment Acquisition Program. LIST received an initial $2m to support preparatory work for bidding on competitive federal task orders. However, it was not selected for DOE’s first $2.7bn allocation of competitive task orders in January which went to Orano, Centrus, and General Matter.
The company remains at its baseline $2m guarantee and continues using its own private equity (including an $11.88m seed round and subsequent Series A rounds) alongside Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Fund (NEF) which allocates grants to attract nuclear companies to Tennessee. LIST was awarded $1.5m contingent on its planned investment in Project FUEL.
