Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR)

[77Port]

I may have misspoke. Most LTBR patents, if I'm not mistaken, involve taking existing nuclear plants and refurbishing them into a HALEU version so they can get up and running in a relatively short time compared to building a new plant. This puts LTBR at the forefront of the field of refitting the thousands of existing, but unusable, nuclear facilities around the world.

[77Port]

Good find. This is LTBRs first wheelhouse.

[boominator]

DOE releases community guide on coal-to-nuclear conversion

Original Link

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released an information guide for communities considering replacing their retired or retiring coal power plants with nuclear power plants. The guide is based on a technical study that found transitioning from a coal plant to nuclear would bring local benefits including employment opportunities, increased revenues and economic activity.


The community guide features a rendering of TerraPower's Natrium project (Image: DOE)

Nearly 30% of the USA's coal plants are projected to retire by 2035, but pivoting away from carbon-emitting sources for electricity generation means economic uncertainty for the communities where those plants are situated, Coal-to-nuclear transitions: An information guide notes. But advanced small modular reactors are particularly well suited to replace coal plants, it says.

The report is based on an in-depth technical study prepared for the DOE, and builds on a 2022 DOE report highlighting the opportunities and challenges as coal communities consider converting to nuclear.

A nuclear power plant replacing a coal power plant would employ more people and create additional long-term jobs and increase total income in host communities, as well as increasing revenue for host communities, power plant operators, and local suppliers. In addition the study found that, with planning and support for training, most workers at an existing coal plant should be able to transition to work at a replacement nuclear plant.

The information guide "offers communities a high-level look at the economic impacts, workforce transition considerations, and policy and funding information relevant to a coal-to-nuclear transition", DOE said. It also provides utilities with a brief overview of considerations such as power requirements, project scope and timeline, and infrastructure reuse.

"As we work to transition to a net-zero economy, it's absolutely essential that we provide resources to energy communities and coal workers who have helped our nation's energy system for decades," said Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff.

The DOE's 2022 report identified 157 retired and 237 operating coal plants sites as potential candidates for a coal-to-nuclear - or C2N - transition, finding 80% of those potential sites to be suitable for hosting advanced nuclear power plants.

Advanced reactor developer TerraPower has already selected a location near a retiring coal plant for its first Natrium advanced reactor. It recently submitted an application to build the demonstration project at Kemmerer, Wyoming to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and plans to begin non-nuclear construction work later this year. Utility PacifiCorp, which operates the retiring Naughton coal plant at Kemmerer, last year added two further Natrium units to its future plans

[IBB-99]

US government wants AI companies to improve their energy usage

As the demand for electricity to power artificial intelligence data centers continues to rise, the US government is engaging in discussions with tech companies to address sustainability concerns.

A report from Axios claims Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is driving efforts to boost power generation and reduce consumption, including potential investments in nuclear energy...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/us-government-wants-ai-companies-to-improve-their-energy-usage/ar-BB1kXms6?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=c17dc61ec0ca4c61a16091137d7ed927&ei=38

[IBB-99]

S-3 dilution news...

https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/sec/0001477932-24-001619/0001477932-24-001619.pdf

[boominator]

Leaders commit to 'unlock potential' of nuclear energy at landmark summit

Leaders and representatives from 32 countries at the Nuclear Energy Summit backed measures in areas such as financing, technological innovation, regulatory cooperation and workforce training to enable the expansion of nuclear capacity to tackle climate change and boost energy security.


The summit photo had Brussels' Atomium as its backdrop (Image: Klaus Iohannis/X)

The summit of nuclear-backing countries was jointly organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Belgium, where it was held. In his opening remarks, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi noted that it had taken 70 years since US President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace United Nations speech for the first nuclear energy summit at the level of national leaders to be held.

He said that with the need for clean energy, "this is a global effort, the world needs us to get our act together" and ensure that international financial institutions can finance nuclear and increase nuclear energy capacity "in a safe, secure and non-proliferation way". He said "COP28 made it clear: to be pro-environment is to be pro-nuclear" and the summit "shows the nuclear taboo is over, starting a new chapter for nuclear commitment".

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander de Croo noted his country's change of policy - from closing nuclear plants to extending operation - and said it was increasingly recognised that nuclear had to be part of the mix, with renewables, if the net-zero goals were going to be met.

In a series of speeches from the leaders attending, the need for energy security and carbon-free energy was frequently referenced, with International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol saying that "without the support of nuclear power, we have no chance to reach our climate targets on time".
Extracts from the summit declaration


"We, the leaders of countries operating nuclear power plants, or expanding or embarking on or exploring the option of nuclear power ... reaffirm our strong commitment to nuclear energy as a key component of our global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both power and industrial sectors, ensure energy security, enhance energy resilience, and promote long-term sustainable development and clean energy transition.

"We are determined to do our utmost to fulfil this commitment through our active and direct engagement, in particular by enhancing cooperation with countries that opt to develop civil nuclear capacities in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a nationally determined manner, including for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net-zero by mid-21st century in keeping with the science, as outlined in the First Global Stocktake of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference."

The declaration adds: "We commit to work to fully unlock the potential of nuclear energy by taking measures such as enabling conditions to support and competitively finance the lifetime extension of existing nuclear reactors, the construction of new nuclear power plants and the early deployment of advanced reactors, including small modular reactors, worldwide while maintaining the highest levels of safety and security, in accordance with respective national regulations and circumstances. In this drive for more clean energy and innovation, we commit to support all countries, especially emerging nuclear ones, in their capacities and efforts to add nuclear energy to their energy mixes consistent with their different national needs, priorities, pathways, and approaches and create a more open, fair, balanced and inclusive environment for their development of nuclear energy, including its non-electrical applications, and to continue effectively implementing safeguards, consistent with Member States’ national legislation and respective international obligations.

"We are committed to continuing our drive for technological innovation, further improving the operational performance, safety and economics of nuclear power plants, enhancing the resilience and security of global nuclear energy industrial and supply chains. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring safe, secure and sustainable spent nuclear fuel management, radioactive waste management and disposal, in particular deep geological disposal, and decommissioning, including decommissioning by design. We call for an intensified collective effort on ensuring the security of energy supply and resilience of individual, regional, and multinational clean energy resources.

"We are committed to creating a fair and open global market environment for nuclear power development to promote exchanges and cooperation among countries. We encourage nuclear regulators to enhance cooperation to enable timely deployment of advanced reactors, including small modular reactors. We emphasise the value of coordinated cooperation in nuclear fuel supply, nuclear power equipment manufacturing and resource security to ensure the stability of the nuclear energy industrial and supply chains."

"We support enhancing efforts to facilitate mobilisation of public investments, where appropriate, and private investments towards additional nuclear power projects. We emphasise that concrete measures in support of nuclear energy may include, as appropriate, tools such as direct public financing, guarantees to debt and equity providers, schemes to share revenue and pricing risks. We call for greater inclusion of nuclear energy in the Environmental, Social, and Governance policies in the international financial system ... we invite multinational development banks, international financial institutions and regional bodies that have the mandate to do so to consider strengthening their support for financing nuclear energy projects and to support the establishment of a financial level playing field for all zero emission sources of energy generation."

"To ensure the future availability of skilled nuclear sector professionals, we need to contribute further to nuclear education and research, and we consider of the utmost importance to train and retain a large and motivated workforce. Investment in skills, including re-skilling, through education and research is critical for the sector through the whole value chain."
What leaders said


The leaders and representatives of the countries attending the summit each gave short speeches. Here are some of the messages those attending heard.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, noted there were different views on nuclear within the European Union, and said the future was not assured for nuclear, citing a falling share of electricity generation in the EU since the 1990s. But she said it should play a crucial role given the urgency of tackling the climate challenge. She added that, assuming safety was assured, countries thinking of closing their existing nuclear power plants rather than extending their lifetimes should "consider their options carefully before foregoing a readily available source of low-emission electricity". She also urged innovation, noting a global "race" involving countries and companies backing small modular reactors, saying "let's go for it".

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said the country was determined to develop its nuclear energy programme with both large scale and small modular reactors and to become a regional leader, while Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov noted his country's 50 years of experience in nuclear energy and said investment in new nuclear was a cornerstone for its future plans.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic congratulated the organisers for holding a summit which was "much more important than many meetings and gatherings bureaucratically organised just to see each other and not to do things". He said his country wanted to build three or four small modular reactors and would like to get the know-how to do so and also have support for finding a way to finance them - "as much help as possible".

The Chinese President's Special Envoy Vice Premier Zhong Guoqing, said China had 55 nuclear energy units in operation with 36 under construction and was assisting many other countries, all contributing to tackling global climate change. He said that it was a global issue, and said it was crucial to double down on safety and security and also "to oppose politicisation of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy".

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said nuclear energy was crucial to achieve the net-zero goal and called for new nuclear financing to come from the European Investment Bank and other similar organisations, while Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala noted the benefits of long-term operation of existing plants for energy security, costs and climate targets and said "international cooperation will bring all of us bigger benefits".

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said nuclear was the only way of generating electricity which was cheap, safe, sustainable and reliable. His country has continued with its plans for the Russian-built Paks II nuclear power plant project and noted that companies from a number of countries in Europe, and the USA, were involved in the project. He said it was in everyone's interests to "prevent nuclear energy" becoming a "hostage of geopolitical hypocrisy and ideological debate".

FInland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said his country's next steps for nuclear included district heating, hydrogen production and a deep geological disposal site for radioactive waste, while the Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that for many years people had reservations about nuclear but views have changed, with the war in Ukraine "acting as an accelerator ... never before has it been so obvious that for the transition to succeed we need every source".

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said his government was planning to construct 1200 MW of new capacity and would be inviting the world's companies to bid for the contracts. Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob said public support for nuclear energy in his country was now above 65% - "it has never been higher". He said that financing was needed from multilateral banks at affordable rates, and also investment was needed in a new skilled workforce. He said global warming was the biggest threat and "we need to act immediately".

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country has large-scale nuclear expansion plans, welcomed the alliance for new nuclear, saying nuclear energy was the only way to reconcile the need to reduce emissions, create jobs and boost energy security. He added that many countries wanted to electrify mobility "but if the electricity is produced by fossil fuels it is a stupid move". He said there was a need to combine improving energy efficiency, and increase renewables as well as new nuclear.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said nuclear was prioritised within the country's power and climate change policy areas. He also said small modular reactors hold the promise of bringing nuclear energy to remote or hard to reach areas.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the Akkuyu nuclear power plant would meet 10% of the country's electricity demand when completed and the plan is for more large plants and SMRs. He also backed IAEA efforts to stop an accident happening at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. For Japan, Masahiro Komura, Parliamentary vice minister for foreign affairs, said it was essential to introduce clean energy to the greatest possible extent and to devise strategies to get more investment to enhance the use of nuclear energy.

For the USA, John Podesta Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy, Innovation and Implementation, said the summit was a 21st Century update for the Atoms for Peace vision, and referenced the commitment by countries at COP28 to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, which he said means 200 GW of new nuclear capacity in the USA. He said a start had already been made and added that the country would also aim to help tackle the climate crisis by helping other countries across the world "build safe, secure, reliable, nuclear power".
Which countries signed the declaration


Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, UK, and the USA.
Industry support for the summit


A number of industry representative groups issued a joint statement in which they welcomed the outcome of the summit, and "the commitment of the national leaders assembled to the development and deployment of nuclear energy to fight climate change, provide energy security, and drive sustainable economic development. We stand ready to work alongside governments to deliver the required nuclear capacity to meet the challenges ahead of us".

The statement from the groups - World Nuclear Association, Canadian Nuclear Association, Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Korea Atomic Industrial Forum, Nuclear Energy Institute, Nucleareurope, and Nuclear Industry Association - said that industry needed governments to provide long-term policies and clarity for potential investors, as well as ensuring ready access to national and international climate finance mechanisms for nuclear deployment, and "promote development of the supply chain commensurate with expansion targets and continue investment in nuclear research".

World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León, said: “This meeting builds upon the good work at COP28, where we saw 25 governments come together and pledge a tripling of global nuclear capacity. As an industry we are here ready to meet the challenge and turn policies into projects to deliver the necessary nuclear energy expansion.”
What happens next?


A number of speakers at the event looked forward to similar future summits to continue to drive forward the initiative. De Croo and Grossi both said that the next summit would not necessarily need to be held in Belgium, and said it was unlikely to be an annual event, but the summit declaration concluded by saying: "We welcome and support the IAEA in convening, in cooperation with a Member State, another Nuclear Energy Summit in due course to maintain the momentum and continue building support for nuclear energy to decarbonise our world."

[boominator]

Extrusion demo is milestone for Lightbridge Fuel fabrication
18. March 2024

Original Link

The extrusion of samples of an alloy of depleted uranium and zirconium at Idaho National Laboratory is a critical step in the process to qualify Lightbridge Corporation's advanced nuclear fuel technology.

The post-extrusion uranium-zirconium rod (Image: INL)

The extrusion process involves pressing a metallic alloy billet through a die, as shown in a video shared by the company.

Lightbridge Extrusion Video

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Lightbridge will analyse the extruded rod to confirm the extrusion process parameters prior to producing future fuel samples using high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which will ultimately be used in the manufacture of Lightbridge Fuel.

Lightbridge Fuel is described by the company as a proprietary next-generation nuclear fuel technology for existing light water reactors and pressurised heavy water reactors which it says can significantly enhance reactor safety, economics, and proliferation resistance. The company is also developing Lightbridge Fuel for small modular reactors. Development of the fuel has received US federal support, with the award of two vouchers under the US Department of Energy's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) programme. GAIN vouchers give advanced nuclear technology innovators access to the research capabilities and expertise available across the department's national laboratory complex.

The work at INL is part of Lightbridge's strategic partnership project and cooperative research and development agreements with Battelle Energy Alliance LLC, the Department of Energy's operating contractor for INL. The collaboration aims to generate irradiation performance data for Lightbridge's delta-phase uranium-zirconium alloy relating to various thermophysical properties, which the company says will support fuel performance modelling and regulatory licensing efforts for its commercial deployment.

"This achievement demonstrates the unique role that national laboratories, particularly INL, play in nuclear innovation and keeping the US as the global leader in nuclear energy," said Jess Gehin, INL associate laboratory director for Nuclear Science and Technology.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

[Remember Tomorrow]

I been an on and off investor in Lightbridge for about 7 years now. I just put in a trade to buy 1000 more shares. LTBR seems way undervalued at this time when you consider its earnings potential and low outstanding shares count. JMHO.

Remember Tomorrow

[77Port]

Lightbridge has patents across Eurasia, Russia and China.

What the f is going on? It's like LTBR doesn't even exist?

[boominator]

New-wave reactor technology could kick-start a nuclear renaissance

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/climate/nuclear-small-modular-reactors-us-russia-china-climate-solution-intl/index.html

[77Port]

Posted this last Dec 2023 about HALEU manufacturing slated for Ohio in 2024.
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Pilot-plant-for-Lightbridge-fuel-mooted-for-Ohio

I've decided HALEU fuel and Cannabis are treated in the same manipulative way, both representing and managed by the keystone cops who bump and trip into and over each other, a never-ending run of bait and switch combinations. What a sad state of affairs.

[boominator]

US seeks proposals for domestic HALEU production

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for uranium enrichment services to help establish a reliable domestic supply of fuels using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). Such fuel is not currently commercially available from US-based suppliers.


(Image: DOE)

The current US commercial nuclear fuel cycle is based on reactor fuel that is enriched to no more than 5% U-235 (known as low-enriched uranium, LEU). Some of the advanced reactor technologies that are currently under development use HALEU fuel - enriched to between 5% and 20% U-235 - which enables the design of smaller reactors that produce more power with less fuel than the current fleet, as well as systems that can be optimised for longer core life, increased safety margins, and other increased efficiencies. At present, only Russia and China have the infrastructure to produce HALEU at scale.

DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy plans to award one or more contracts to produce HALEU from domestic uranium enrichment capabilities. Once enriched, the HALEU material will be stored on site until there is a need to ship it to deconverters.

Under the HALEU enrichment contracts - which have a maximum duration of 10 years - the government assures each contractor a minimum order value of USD2 million, to be fulfilled over the term of the contract. Enrichment and storage activities must occur in continental USA and comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. Proposals are due by 8 March.

This RFP incorporated industry feedback received on a draft version issued in June last year.

In total, President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act will provide up to USD500 million for HALEU enrichment contracts selected through this RFP and a separate one, released in November, for services to deconvert the uranium enriched through this RFP into metal, oxide, and other forms to be used as fuel for advanced reactors.

"Nuclear energy currently provides almost half of the nation's carbon-free power, and it will continue to play a significant part in transitioning to a clean energy future," said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. "President Biden's Investing in America is strengthening our national and energy security through the domestic buildup of a robust HALEU supply chain, helping bring advanced reactors online in time to combat the climate crisis."

"The Biden-Harris Administration knows that nuclear energy is essential to accelerating America's clean energy future," added Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. "Boosting our domestic uranium supply won't just advance President Biden's historic climate agenda, but also increase America's energy security, create good-paying union jobs, and strengthen our economic competitiveness."

DOE projects that more than 40 tonnes of HALEU could be needed before the end of the decade, with additional amounts required each year, to deploy a new fleet of advanced reactors in order to reach the current US Administration's goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

DOE is supporting several activities to expand the HALEU supply chain for advanced commercial reactors, including recycling used nuclear fuel from government-owned research reactors. In November, DOE reached a key milestone under its HALEU Demonstration project when Centrus Energy produced the country's first 20 kilograms of HALEU.

Together, the USA, Canada, France, Japan and the UK have announced collective plans to mobilise USD4.2 billion in government-led spending to develop safe and secure nuclear energy supply chains.

Earlier this week, the UK government announced it will invest GBP300 million (USD381 million) to launch a HALEU programme, making it the first country in Europe to launch such a nuclear fuel programme.

In September, Orano revealed plans to extend enrichment capacity at its Georges Besse II (GB-II) uranium enrichment plant in France, and said it had begun the regulatory process to produce HALEU there.

Full Article Link

[IBB-99]

Seth Grae on the future of climate and energy:

[boominator]

NRC approves HALEU transport package

NRC approves HALEU transport package

NAC International's patented Optimus-L packaging system to contain and transport high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) TRISO fuel has been approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Such fuel will be used in advanced reactors.


Optimus-L packages (Image: NAC)

The NRC issued a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) on 14 December, enabling NAC with the Optimus-L system (packaging and contents) to transport HALEU TRISO fuel compacts to support an advanced reactor project for a undisclosed customer.

"This is the first time the NRC has licensed high-capacity packagings (>500 lb payload) for HALEU TRISO fuel in the US and lays the foundation for future licensing of NAC's Optimus systems to carry other HALEU contents," NAC noted.

TRISO fuel comprises spherical kernels of enriched uranium oxycarbide (or uranium dioxide) surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide, giving a containment for fission products which is stable up to very high temperatures. HALEU TRISO fuels are being considered as the preferred fuel in several advanced reactor designs currently under development.

The Optimus-L is a lightweight, versatile and modular nuclear materials packaging system first licensed by the NRC in December 2021. NAC developed Optimus as a platform that can be easily expanded and optimised for multiple types of nuclear materials using the company's proprietary methodologies. NAC said it plans on leveraging this platform to include a range of HALEU forms and design configurations to support future HALEU material packaging and transportation projects.

"The approval of high-capacity packaging systems like Optimus-L for these types of fuel supports the development of a robust HALEU infrastructure to ensure material movement is not a limiting factor in modern nuclear power development," NAC said. "When compared to smaller capacity drum packages that would require an excessive number of packagings and significantly more handling effort per conveyance trailer, the Optimus-L offers a highly competitive solution to economically ship commercial quantities of HALEU materials with fewer packagings."

"We are pleased to achieve this milestone - NRC certification for our unequaled Optimus-L system to incorporate HALEU TRISO contents," said NAC President and CEO Kent Cole. "Receiving this CoC supports our objective of offering high-capacity and high-efficiency HALEU transportation to support commercial shipments.

"This amendment opens the door for other future HALEU contents in the Optimus-L platform. This certification is an important milestone on our HALEU packaging technology roadmap, and by offering efficient HALEU packaging and transportation, we are doing our part to help build a robust HALEU fuel cycle."

[boominator]

Biden To Help U.S. Break Russia's HALEU Monopoly

Biden Offers Companies Millions To Help U.S. Break Russia's Monopoly On HALEU


Workers at the Ohio-based nuclear enricher Centrus erecting a centrifuge for producing HALEU

The Biden administration showed up to last month’s global climate summit in Dubai with a radical new plan to replace coal and compete again with Russia and China over a technology American scientists pioneered.

The United States led nearly two dozen other nations in a pledge to triple the world’s supply of nuclear power by 2050. While most of the reactors under construction in other countries today are Russian models, the U.S. promoted its growing slate of high-tech startups with cutting-edge reactor designs as an American alternative to working with the Kremlin.

The big problem with that pitch? The small, next-generation nuclear reactors companies like the one billionaire Bill Gates backs are designed to run on a potent but rare type of uranium fuel with only one commercial supplier on the market: the Russian government.

Last autumn, a facility in Ohio began the nation’s first domestic production of what’s called high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU (pronounced HAY-loo). But it’s still at a small scale.

Now the Biden administration is trying to entice more companies into the market.

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy offered private companies a minimum of $2 million each to start producing HALEU domestically, the second part of a $500 million tranche of federal dollars for nuclear fuel production from President Joe Biden’s climate-spending law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency announced the first for a separate part of the HALEU-making process in November.

“Boosting our domestic uranium supply won’t just advance President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” Ali Zaidi, Biden’s national climate adviser, said in a statement, “but also increase America’s energy security, create good-paying union jobs, and strengthen our economic competitiveness.”


Biden's national climate adviser Ali Zaidi hailed the latest funding for HALEU production

All 93 atom-splitting machines operating at U.S. power plants today are conventional light-water reactors based on the technology first commercialized in the 1950s to harness the tremendous heat released from fission reactions to boil water that makes steam that spins turbines to generate huge volumes of nonstop zero-carbon electricity.

Light-water reactors are only built to handle fuel made from uranium enriched up to 5% using high-speed gas centrifuges into the unstable uranium-235 isotope needed for a sustained fission reaction. Many of the “advanced” reactors now vying for regulatory approval in the U.S. are instead designed to handle fuel enriched up to 20%, meaning the technology uses four times as much of the energy per unit of uranium as the traditional variety.

While the U.S. and its allies levied unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s oil, gas and mining companies after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s state-owned Rosatom remains immune as the fourth-largest source of traditional fuel imports for American utilities.

That may not be true forever. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives last month passed legislation calling on the U.S. to ban imports of Russian uranium.

The U.S. used to produce most of its own reactor fuel. As part of the 1990s, a Clinton-era deal encouraged the struggling post-Soviet Russia to dismantle its nuclear weapons, however, the U.S. agreed to buy any reactor fuel made from weapons. The cheap supply of Russian fuel put U.S. enrichers out of business, with the last facility closing down a decade ago.

Existing reactors have alternatives to Russia.

Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia ? the top three suppliers of uranium to the U.S., respectively ? are all looking to increase mining. France’s state-owned uranium company, Orano, announced plans in October to increase enriched fuel production by 30%. Three new uranium mines entered into production in Arizona and Utah in just the past few months.

But next-generation reactors that need HALEU suffer from a classic chicken-versus-egg problem. Who can confidently invest in building a first-of-a-kind reactor that needs Russian fuel while the U.S. is trading barbs with Moscow? Who can confidently invest in enriching fuel for reactors that don’t currently exist and are not yet even licensed in the U.S.?

The federal government is providing an answer to both by pumping billions into propping up advanced reactors and fuel production in hopes they can advance simultaneously in time for the projected start of the new nuclear rollout at the start of the 2030s.

But Edward McGinnis, who spent 30 years working on nuclear power at the Energy Department before becoming the chief executive of the fuel-recycling startup Curio, said the Biden administration is overlooking a vital potential source of HALEU: nuclear waste.


In the background, the COGEMA factory rises from the landscape.

The spent rods of uranium pellets that come out of traditional reactors after a two-year fuel cycle still contain as much as 97% of their energy ? which is why the material remains dangerously radioactive for so long. Companies like Curio want to use special tools to separate all the different radioactive isotopes out of nuclear waste, dramatically reducing how much toxic material needs to be stored long term and increasing the domestic supply of reactor fuel.

Recycling nuclear waste is a complicated process that the U.S. government feared in the 1970s would increase the supply of radioactive materials for weapons, banning the nation’s first facility from opening. France, Russia and Japan all built plants to reprocess uranium fuel. While the U.S. lifted its ban on nuclear recycling in 2005, no company has yet made a serious attempt to build a new facility.

The IRA legislation that provided the new funding for HALEU production did not include recycling nuclear waste.

The draft letter of the Energy Department’s latest request for proposals for enriching HALEU states on page 8 that the uranium used to make the fuel “must have been mined and converted, and not come from a source that was recycled or reprocessed.”

“Some people don’t realize when we’re saying we need to support HALEU that recycling can be one of the two solid legs of our future nuclear fuel domestic production capability,” McGinnis said by phone Tuesday.

The main federal effort for funding nuclear waste recycling is the Energy Department’s experimental ARPA-E program, which in 2022 gave out $38 million to companies and laboratories for research, including $5 million to Curio.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), who chairs the House’s appropriations subcommittee on water and energy, tacked $15 million for reprocessing uranium fuel onto the latest federal budget proposal to help companies advance beyond the research phase into licensing and locating an actual plant.

McGinnis said the U.S. hasn’t even considered spending that kind of money deploying nuclear waste recycling in at least 15 years. He called on the Senate and White House to champion the measure in budget talks.

“You’re not only complementing the traditional uranium mining, you’re also, by extracting from our so-called nuclear waste, solving to a large degree the nuclear waste problem at the same time,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”

[boominator]

NuScale Lays Off Nearly Half Its Workforce

NuScale is the second major U.S. reactor company to cut jobs in recent months.

Almost exactly one year ago, NuScale Power made history as the first of a new generation of nuclear energy startups to win regulatory approval of its reactor design ? just in time for the Biden administration to begin pumping billions of federal dollars into turning around the nation’s atomic energy industry.

But as mounting costs and the cancellation of its landmark first power plant have burned through shrinking cash reserves, the Oregon-based company is laying off as much 40% of its workforce, HuffPost has learned.

At a virtual all-hands meeting Friday afternoon, the company announced the job cuts to remaining employees. HuffPost reviewed the audio of the meeting. Two sources with direct knowledge of NuScale’s plans confirmed the details of the layoffs.

By Friday evening, NuScale’s stock price had plunged more than 8% as investors sold off shares. NuScale did not respond to a call, an email or a text message seeking comment.

Surging construction costs are imperiling clean energy across the country. In just the past two months, developers have pulled the plug on major offshore wind farms in New Jersey and New York after state officials refused to let companies rebid for contracts at a higher rate.

But the financial headwinds are taking an especially acute toll on nuclear power. It takes more than a decade to build a reactor, and the only new ones under construction in the U.S. and Europe went billions of dollars over budget in the past two decades. Many in the atomic energy industry are betting that small modular reactors ? shrunken down, lower-power units with a uniform design ? can make it cheaper and easier to build new nuclear plants through assembly-line repetition.

The U.S. government is banking on that strategy to meet its climate goals. The Biden administration spearheaded a pledge to triple atomic energy production worldwide in the next three decades at the United Nations’ climate summit in Dubai last month, enlisting dozens of partner nations in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The two infrastructure-spending laws that President Joe Biden signed in recent years earmark billions in spending to develop new reactors and keep existing plants open. And new bills in Congress to speed up U.S. nuclear deployments and sell more American reactors abroad are virtually all bipartisan, with progressives and right-wing Republicans alike expressing support for atomic energy.


A rendering from the Idaho National Laboratory shows what NuScale's debut power plant was supposed to look like.

But the U.S. trails rivals like China and Russia in deploying new types of reactors, including those based on technologies that scientists working for the federal government first developed.

Until November, NuScale appeared on track to debut the nation’s first atomic energy station powered with small modular reactors. But the project to build a dozen reactors in the Idaho desert, and sell the electricity to ratepayers across the Western U.S. through a Utah state-owned utility, was abandoned as rising interest rates made it harder for NuScale to woo investors willing to bet on something as risky a first-of-its-kind nuclear plant.

In 2022, NuScale went public via a SPAC deal, a type of merger that became a popular way for debt-laden startups to pay back venture capitalists with a swifter-than-usual initial public offering on the stock market.

In its latest quarterly earnings, NuScale reported just under $200 million in cash reserves, nearly 40% of which was tied up in restricted accounts.

On a call with analysts in November, Ramsey Hamady, NuScale’s chief financial officer, said the firm expected to “take in about $50 million worth of cash from customers from work that we do.”

But the firm spent more than that in the previous three-month cycle ? a function, the executive said, of how project costs fluctuate regularly.

“This isn’t just a fixed-expense business. There’s variable expense, and there’s a lot of discretionary spending,” Hamady said. “We spend more as we have contracts, and we pull in our spending as contracts either get pushed out or delayed or whether we want to focus more on discretionary spend or nondiscretionary spend.”

[77Port]

HALEU in OHIO: 2024

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Pilot-plant-for-Lightbridge-fuel-mooted-for-Ohio

[IBB-99]

November Newsletter

https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_052b8cae8952f007489a7ccbe628772a/ltbridge/files/Lightbridge_Newsletter_Nov_2023.pdf

[IBB-99]

Press Release

https://www.ltbridge.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/402/lightbridge-comments-on-recent-nuclear-industry-news

[77Port]

CANDU.

It's not HALEU, it's Canadian fuel, involving Canadian reactors across Europe. I suppose it makes some sense, letting the Europeans test it out prior to opening plants here.

https://www.ltbridge.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/399/lightbridge-launches-engineering-study-to-assess

October 17, 2023

Engages Institutul de Cercetari Nucleare Pite?ti, a subsidiary of Regia Autonoma Tehnologii Pentru Energia Nucleara (RATEN ICN) in Romania

@PITE?TI, Romania and RESTON, Va., Oct. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightbridge Corporation (Nasdaq: LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, is pleased to announce it has engaged Institutul de Cercetari Nucleare Pite?ti, a subsidiary of Regia Autonoma Tehnologii pentru Energia Nucleara (RATEN ICN) to perform an engineering study to assess the compatibility and suitability of Lightbridge Fuel™ for use in CANDU reactors. This assessment will cover key areas including mechanical design, neutronics analysis, and thermal and thermal-hydraulic evaluations. The findings from the engineering study will play an important role in guiding future economic evaluations and navigating potential regulatory licensing-related issues.
What are CANDU Reactors?
Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactors, initially designed in Canada during the 1960s, use natural-uranium fuel and heavy water as both a moderator and coolant. Unique in their design, they can be refueled while operating at full power. This contrasts with US reactors that require shutdown during refueling. CANDU is the standard for Canadian nuclear power and is also used in Argentina, China, Indi Korea."

[77Port]

'bout time. Wonder what took so long?

[boominator]

Enrichment operations start at US HALEU plant

Enrichment operations start at US HALEU plant

US nuclear fuel and services company Centrus Energy Corp has begun enrichment operations at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. The company said it expects to begin withdrawing high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) product later this month.


The HALEU cascade at the Piketon site

Centrus said the American Centrifuge Plant is the only HALEU facility in the USA licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the first new US-owned, US-technology uranium enrichment plant to begin production since 1954.

"This moment holds great pride - and promise - for the nation," said Centrus President and CEO Daniel Poneman. "We hope that this demonstration cascade will soon be joined by thousands of additional centrifuges right here in Piketon to produce the HALEU needed to fuel the next generation of advanced reactors, low-enriched-uranium to sustain the existing fleet of reactors, and the enriched uranium needed to sustain our nuclear deterrent for generations to come. This is how the United States can recover its lost nuclear independence."

HALEU fuel contains uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235 - higher than the uranium fuel used in light-water reactors currently in operation, which typically contains up to 5% uranium-235. It will be needed by most of the advanced reactor designs being developed under the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The lack of a commercial supply chain to support these reactors has prompted the DOE to launch a programme to stimulate the development of a domestic source of HALEU.

Centrus began construction of the demonstration cascade of 16 centrifuges in 2019 under contract with the DOE, and last year secured a further USD150 million of cost-shared funding to finish the cascade, complete final regulatory steps, begin operating the cascade, and produce up to 20 kg of HALEU by the end of this year.

In June, Centrus announced it had successfully completed its operational readiness reviews with the NRC and received approval from the regulator to possess uranium at the Piketon site - the last major regulatory hurdle prior to beginning production.

Since then, Centrus has been conducting final system tests and other preparations so that production could begin.

The company noted it met every required milestone on time and on budget during construction of the cascade and is starting production two months earlier than scheduled under the competitively-awarded, cost-shared contract the company signed with the DOE in 2022.

Centrus said the capacity of the 16-centrifuge cascade is modest - about 900 kilograms of HALEU per year - but with sufficient funding and offtake commitments, the company could significantly expand production. It says a full-scale HALEU cascade, consisting of 120 centrifuge machines, with a combined capacity to produce some 6000 kilograms of HALEU per year, could be brought online within about 42 months of securing the necessary funding. Centrus said it could add a second HALEU cascade six months later and subsequent cascades every two months after that.

[boominator]

Operations begin at US chloride salt test system

Operations begin at US chloride salt test system

Southern Company, TerraPower and Core Power have started pumped-salt operations in the Integrated Effects Test (IET) facility at TerraPower's laboratory in Everett, Washington. The IET will be used in the development of the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor.


The Integrated Effects Test (Image: Southern Company)

The IET is a multi-loop test facility that builds off a series of smaller testing campaigns to inform its design. The non-nuclear system is heated by an external power source. Data from operation of the test will be used to help validate the thermal hydraulics and safety analysis codes needed to demonstrate molten salt reactor systems.

The project was initiated by Southern and TerraPower under the US Department of Energy Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC-15) award, a multi-year effort to promote the design, construction and operation of Generation-IV nuclear reactors. The project team also includes Core Power, the Electric Power Research Institute, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University. The programme represents a USD76 million total project investment with a 60%-40% public-private cost share.

Construction and installation of the IET facility was completed in October last year. Since then, the project team has completed mechanical, electrical and controls verification and commissioned all systems. Commissioning employed hot argon and chloride salts to confirm readiness, including filling and flushing of drain tanks and verifying operation of freeze valves - a unique and important component for salt systems.

Chloride salt has now been loaded into the primary coolant salt loops and pumped-salt operations have begun. A multi-month test campaign will provide valuable salt operations data and know-how for the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor programme.

"The Molten Chloride Fast Reactor has the potential to meet the carbon-free needs of hard-to-decarbonise industrial sectors including and beyond electricity," said Jeff Latkowski, TerraPower senior vice president for the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor. "The Integrated Effects Test will help us gather and evaluate data to support the development of our technology, and we are excited to launch pumped-salt operations."

The IET also supports the development and operation of the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment at INL, a proof-of-concept critical fast-spectrum salt reactor. At less than 200 kW, the reactor will provide experimental and operational data.

Both the IET and the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment will inform the design, licensing and operation of an approximately 180 MW Molten Chloride Fast Reactor demonstration planned for the early 2030s time frame.

"Southern Company believes the next generation of nuclear power holds promise in providing an affordable and sustainable net-zero future that includes reliable, resilient and dispatchable clean energy for customers,” said Mark Berry, Southern Company Services senior vice president of research and development. "It's exciting to see each new landmark in the Integrated Effects Test, as it helps our nation rebuild lost molten salt reactor knowledge."

"The start-up of the Integrated Effects Test is a milestone achievement in the development of the first fast-spectrum molten salt reactor, and we are immensely proud to contribute to its success," said Core Power President and CEO Mikal Bøe. "The Integrated Effects Test allows us to collect that crucial last-mile data for a design and build of the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor and takes the team one step closer to a genuinely unique way to do new nuclear that is appropriate for the commercial marine environment."

TerraPower's MCFR technology uses molten chloride salt as both reactor coolant and fuel, allowing for so-called fast spectrum operation which the company says makes the fission reaction more efficient. It operates at higher temperatures than conventional reactors, generating electricity more efficiently, and also offers potential for process heat applications and thermal storage. An iteration of the MCFR - known as the m-MSR - intended for marine use is being developed.

TerraPower is also developing Natrium technology - featuring a sodium fast reactor combined with a molten salt energy storage system - a demonstration plant for which is to be built at Kemmerer in Wyoming.

[boominator]

That applies to most politicians...

[IBB-99]

Even a stopped clock is right twice per day

[boominator]

World needs nuclear for net zero, says John Kerry

World needs nuclear for net zero

Nuclear will be essential for the world to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said at a New York summit this week. He also praised the recently launched Net Zero Nuclear Initiative - which has now welcomed GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) as its first corporate partner.

Kerry addresses the summit on 18 September.

Kerry was addressing the first day of Nuclear Energy Policy Summit 2023: Accelerating Net Zero Nuclear, an inaugural event organised by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center in partnership with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation on the sidelines of New York Climate Week and the United Nations General Assembly.

Extreme weather events are only going to increase as the world falls behind on its climate targets, Kerry said, as he called for science-based decision-making. "The reality is that this year it's going to be worse than last year, and next year is going to be worse than this year, no matter what we do - for the simple reason that we're way behind," he said. "We're currently heading towards something like 2.4 degrees, 2.5 degrees of warming on the planet and everything that you see happening today is happening at 1.1 degrees Celsius of warming," he said.

"We have to recognise a reality here. We have to transition away from unabated burning of fossil fuel," Kerry said.

"Most scientists will tell you … we can't get to net zero 2050 unless we have a pot, a mixture, of energy approaches in the new energy economy. And one of those elements which is essential in all the modelling I've seen, is nuclear."

The magnitude of the challenge will require commitment, he added. "Even if you had a quintupling of renewable energy, you will not alter the current course of 2.4 degrees - it's that big a challenge right now." This needs commitment firstly "not to keep making the problem worse" by supporting the use of fossil fuels which remain unabated, and secondly to accelerate all zero emissions or extremely low emissions approaches to energy, transportation and ultimately heavy industry: "We don't have the luxury of unilaterally disarming ourselves … with respect to any decarbonisation technology when we're facing the urgency of this crisis - it's all of the above we need on the table."

The USA is now committed, "based on experience and based on reality", to trying to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy, he said. "It's what we believe we absolutely need in order to win this battle and we believe we still can win this battle".

The COP28 climate conference - which takes place in Dubai from 30 November until 12 December - is an opportunity to try to galvanise more action, and Kerry said he was pleased to see the launch of the "pioneering" Net Zero Nuclear platform. This initiative was launched in early September by World Nuclear Association and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Atoms4NetZero and the UK government, and aims to ensure that nuclear energy’s potential is fully realised in facilitating the decarbonisation of global energy systems by promoting the value of nuclear energy and removing barriers to its growth especially in the run-up to COP28.

Speaking after Kerry's address to Nuclear Energy Policy Summit 2023, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y Léon announced that GEH has become Net Zero Nuclear's first corporate partner.

"We do want to make sure that this initiative brings the entire global nuclear industry together," Bilbao y Léon said. GE's decision to join the initiative clearly shows that the company - which works in a number of clean energy technologies - "sees nuclear as a key component of any serious energy transition towards clean energy processes," she added.

[tjusa02]

Going back to your previous post with Oklo and Centrus Energy, it should be interesting to see what happens. Oklo’s reactors a suppose to be able to run off of not only new HALEU fuel, but also recycled fuel, which most US reactors can not. In fact I believe they have already secured recycled fuel for their pilot reactor and plan on getting into the recycled fuels business down the road.
Though I’m not sure where this will leave them with LightBridge since I’m note sure if they even use a standard fuel rod.

[tjusa02]

Really this administration has had about as much interest in nuclear as all the rest. It’s mostly been a bi-partisan group in the house that has been pushing forward nuclear for the last 12-15 years.

[tjusa02]

As a note from someone who’s been following this stock for almost 10 years:

If you go back to pre-Russian invasion of Ukraine (2014) LightBridge was actually pretty fair along with creating test fuel rods for Soviet type reactors, and holds a series of patients in Russian for it. If I remember right, I believe they even had a Moscow office. Either that or it was ran out of London. Regardless if you go back to 2012-2014 reports and transcripts you’ll see that LightBridge was very close to commercialize in Russia back then but had to pull out due sanctions after Crimea was annexed.

Sorry not on much or really have time for a whole lot of research, but I’ll try to drop in from time to time.

[boominator]

Centrus brings forward HALEU production date

Centrus brings forward HALEU production date

US nuclear fuel and services company Centrus Energy Corp announced that it expects to begin first-of-a-kind production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, in October - about two months ahead of schedule.


The Piketon centrifuge cascade (Image: Centrus)

HALEU fuel contains uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235 - higher than the uranium fuel used in light-water reactors currently in operation, which typically contains up to 5% uranium-235. It will be needed by most of the advanced reactor designs being developed under the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. But the lack of a commercial supply chain to support these reactors has prompted the DOE to launch a programme to stimulate the development of a domestic source of HALEU.

Centrus began construction of the demonstration cascade of 16 centrifuges in 2019 under contract with the DOE, and last year secured a further USD150 million of cost-shared funding to finish the cascade, complete final regulatory steps, begin operating the cascade, and produce up to 20 kg of HALEU by the end of this year.

In June, Centrus announced it had successfully completed its operational readiness reviews with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and received NRC approval to possess uranium at the Piketon site - the last major regulatory hurdle prior to beginning production.

Centrus is now conducting final system tests and other preparations so that production can begin in October.

"This will be the first new US-owned uranium enrichment plant to begin production since 1954," said Centrus President and CEO Daniel Poneman. "What better way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of President Eisenhower's historic Atoms for Peace initiative than to restore a domestic uranium enrichment capability that will support our energy security and clean power needs, enable long-term national security and non-proliferation goals, and generate great new jobs for American workers."

Centrus said the capacity of the 16-centrifuge cascade will be modest - about 900 kilograms of HALEU per year - but with sufficient funding and offtake commitments, the company could significantly expand production. It says a full-scale HALEU cascade, consisting of 120 centrifuge machines, with a combined capacity to produce approximately 6000 kilograms of HALEU per year, could be brought online within about 42 months of securing the necessary funding. Centrus said it could add an additional HALEU cascade every six months after that.

[boominator]

DOE Nuclear Energy link...

U.S. Department of Energy to Acquire High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium Material

[boominator]

Better now than never....

Previous administrations (Trump/Pence-Bush/Cheney) simply didn't care....since they were in the pockets of US fossil fuel corporations.
It's no secret,

Biden-Harris finally got things going without making big speeches.

[url][/url][tag]https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/us-department-energy-acquire-high-assay-low-enriched-uranium-material[/tag]

Some people talk a lot.... others take action

[77Port]

We've been kicking around the acronym HALEU on this Board for at least the past 2 years, maybe more. It all feels fuzzy as time doesn't seem to hold together the way it used to.

But after years of mentioning HALEU, this is the first time I've ever heard this: "The Putin government's control over a special nuclear fuel has rattled the West's atomic industry.
New deals show the U.S. is finally trying to catch up."

LTBR has a desk drawer full of patents from countries around the world regarding HALEU fuel. LTBR has been at the heart of HALEU, it seems, from the beginning.

Never a word about Putin, Russia, or a race which is being run.

For this article to say "... the U.S. is finally trying to catch up "

What? Dept or Energy has been sitting on its thumb for a long time. Only recently was LTBR/HALEU even let in the room. The first research grant to them was recent history.

If Russia had been speeding ahead all this time, it seems odd we're hearing it for the first time now.

Perhaps there is evidence for such a statement, but I've never heard of it.

Still, it's all intriguing. And if it helps get HALEU at all the tables which means LTBR and it's drawer full of patents, let the games begin.

[boominator]

Oklo and Centrus Energy broaden links with MoU

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Oklo-and-Centrus-Energy-broaden-links-with-MoU

Advanced reactor plant developer Oklo has expanded its partnership with Centrus Energy with a memorandum of understanding covering the development of the Aurora powerhouses and High-Assay, Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel supply.

How an Aurora powerhouse could look (Image: Oklo/Gensler)

[boominator]

U.S. Inches Closer To Breaking Russia’s Monopoly On HALEU Fuel

The Putin government's control over a special nuclear fuel has rattled the West's atomic industry.
New deals show the U.S. is finally trying to catch up.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/centrus-oklo-nuclear_n_64ebc564e4b0d17252144d32

U.S. is inching closer to breaking the Kremlin’s monopoly.

On Monday, the Ohio-based Centrus Energy announced a deal to supply the California-based reactor startup Oklo Inc. with a fuel known as high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU.

Pronounced HAY-loo, the fuel compares to traditional reactor fuel the way a heady Belgian ale might stack up to a Miller Lite. The old-school, large-scale reactors that comprise the entire U.S. fleet can’t stomach HALEU, which is enriched to the point where as much as 20% of the uranium atoms can be split, as opposed to the typical stuff that maxes out at 5%. But the sleek new reactor technologies companies like Oklo, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower and the Maryland-based X-energy hope to bring to market in the coming years run on that stronger stuff.

As it is, the U.S. produces just 5% of its own traditional reactor fuel from a New Mexico facility owned by Urenco, a consortium jointly owned by the British, German and Dutch governments. It’s been difficult enough to get more domestic production up and running for that fuel, much less convince private investors to spend billions of dollars on facilities to manufacture fuel for reactors that don’t even exist yet.

This has created a “chicken-and-egg problem,” said Dan Leistikow, the vice president of communications at Centrus.

“It’s very difficult to sell reactors without a domestic fuel supply,” he said in an interview Sunday. “But it’s very difficult to put the investment together to build the fuel supply until there’s a base of customers.”

Making matters tougher, the energy-intensive “gaseous diffusion” technology once used to enrich uranium went out of fashion. Countries like France and Russia built what are called centrifuges, cylindrical machines that spin gasified uranium at extremely high speeds to turn the metal from its natural form into the unstable radioactive isotope that can be easily split in a fission reaction. But the U.S. simply lets its old enrichment industry shut down without investing in anything new.

Centrus ? which was born out of the Manhattan Project and split from the federal government to become a private company in 1992 ? has been slowly working to change that, building a pilot facility in Piketon, Ohio, that in June got the first stamp of approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But the company has yet to receive enough investment to expand to full capacity.

Once that demand lines up, things could move quickly, Leistikow said. It would take 3 1/2 years to get enough centrifuges up and running to produce 6 metric tons of HALEU per year. But the company said it could roughly double its capacity every six months after that with the right amount of money flowing to it.

Democrats earmarked roughly $700 million in President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act climate law for producing HALEU at home. But Leistikow said that amounts to a down payment.

[boominator]

‘America First 2.0’: Vivek Ramaswamy

Looks like he can "fix it"... LOL

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/19/vivek-ramaswamy-republican-presidential-nomination-candidate

In reality: Just another clown on the stage...

[boominator]

Vivek Ramaswamy is a performer, not a presidential candidate

Another "con-artist" for people who "believe" stuff instead of actually knowing things.

Fast talk... big mouth....and a lot of hot air

Just like the Trump Show: "Believe me... I alone can fix it"

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/vivek-ramaswamy-is-a-performer-not-a-presidential-candidate

"gastroenterolgist of political specialists"??? LOL

He needs one... because he's full of sh*t.

People are so gullible in this country...

SCARY

[77Port]

Awesome article.

Vivek Ramaswamy is the gastroenterolgist of political specialists.

He's he only one to accurately diagnose the U.S. as having digestive diseases not dissimilar to IBS, Crohns and a host of other modern ailments.

In crude terms, the U.S. is constipated from decades of bad habits and now we're bloated, obese and paralyzed.

And he's brave enough to say this aloud.

[IBB-99]

Vivek Ramaswamy
@VivekGRamaswamy

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is fundamentally hostile to nuclear energy in the U.S. and the worst irony of all is that it’s also worse for safety. Together, this is strictly bad for American greatness. Prior to the NRC’s inception, the average approval time for a new nuclear plant was 3-4 years. Today, it’s 25-40 years. By comparison, Japan is still able to build new plants in 3-4 years & it’s 5-8 years for France. Even worse, the cumbersome NRC regulatory burden ensures that the operating nuclear plants in the U.S. don’t use the newer Gen III or Gen IV models, which are safer and more efficient than the older Gen I and Gen II designs that the U.S. uses. By contrast, China is the first country to operate a Gen IV reactor while we’re still stuck in Gen II.

Answer: Shut down the NRC. I’ll get the job done.

The NRC has a staff of ~2,949. 47% of the staff in administrative staff and redundant roles should be laid off immediately.

The remaining 1,554 specialists will be reassigned to serve within other agencies that have overlapping missions for greater efficiency and better focus.

Reassignments:

- Department of Energy (1,176 specialists)
Office of Nuclear Energy: licensing, oversight, mission support, and training.

- The EPA (317 specialists)
Nuclear materials and waste safety.

- FEMA (43 specialists)
Event response

- DHS (18 specialists)
Homeland security.

This shutdown and reassignment of specialized personnel will return 62% of the NRC’s budget to taxpayers and unshackle nuclear to drive American energy.
9:01 AM · Aug 14, 2023
·
25.8K
Views

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is fundamentally hostile to nuclear energy in the U.S. and the worst irony of all is that it’s also worse for safety. Together, this is strictly bad for American greatness. Prior to the NRC’s inception, the average approval time for a new nuclear… pic.twitter.com/hK8zmVwNpr

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 14, 2023

[77Port]

https://www.ltbridge.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/396/lightbridge-receives-notice-of-allowance-for-a-pivotal

[77Port]

Source: GlobeNewswire Inc.

Lightbridge Corporation (Nasdaq: LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, announced that it received a Notice of Allowance for a crucial divisional patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office related to a method of manufacturing Lighbridge’s multi-lobe helically twisted metallic fuel rods via the casting route, which is the Company’s preferred method of forming a fuel core billet prior to co-extrusing an entire billet assembly (i.e., fuel core billet together with a central displacer wire and a zirconium alloy cladding canister) into a complete fuel rod.

[boominator]

U.S. Marks Major Nuclear Milestone

As Georgia Reactor Enters Commercial Operation

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nuclear-vogtle_n_64c7f768e4b03ad2b89a08f7

The first new nuclear reactor built from scratch in the United States in a generation entered commercial operation on Monday following years of billion-dollar delays.

It’s a milestone moment that advocates hope will whet the nation’s appetite for more atomic power plants ? and reopen a fresh debate over what kinds of reactor technologies the U.S. should prioritize.

After 14 years of construction and financial woes that at one point bankrupted the legendary nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Unit 3 of Southern Company’s Alvin W. Vogtle Generating Plant split its first uranium atoms in March. With its final tests completed, the 1,100-megawatt reactor began full-scale electricity production this week near Georgia’s border with South Carolina.

[77Port]

Finally, somebody opened the door to say, "Mr. Big is ready to see you now."

RESTON, Va., July 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightbridge Corporation (Nasdaq: LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, today announced that Texas A&M University (“TAMU”) has been awarded approximately $1,000,000 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Nuclear Energy University Program R&D Awards to study the deployment of advanced nuclear fuels in Small Modular Reactors. The project will be conducted over three years and will be funded in its entirety by the DOE, with the goal of bringing collaborative teams together to solve complex problems to advance nuclear technology and understanding. The study will consist of a comprehensive characterization of the performance of Lightbridge Fuel™ inside a small modular reactor (“SMR”) designed by industry leader NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). Structural Integrity Associates (“SI”) will perform the thermal evaluation of Lightbridge Fuel in the SMR using its PEGASUS simulation software, a next generation fuel evaluation and design optimization tool. The study will generate unique sets of experimental data of friction factor, flow, and heat transfer behavior under normal and off-normal conditions. An abstract of the study can be found here: https://neup.inl.gov/FY23%20Abstracts/CFA-23-29356_TechnicalAbstract_2023CFATechnicalAbstractCFA-23-29356.pdf.

https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/lightbridge-LTBR/stock-news/91520051/lightbridge-announces-u-s-department-of-energy-aw

[77Port]

Haven't seen it, but saw Oliver Stone interviewed about his new film, Nuclear Now.

https://www.ans.org/news/article-4958/oliver-stones-new-film-inuclear-nowi-opens/

Oliver Stone’s new film Nuclear Now opens

Fri, Apr 28, 2023
Nuclear Cafe

Academy Award–winning director Oliver Stone has long courted controversy with such films as Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, Natural Born Killers, and Nixon. His latest release is sure to continue that trend. In Nuclear Now, which opens today in theaters nationwide, Stone “explores the possibility for the global community to overcome the challenges of climate change and energy poverty to reach a brighter future through the power of nuclear energy,” according to the movie’s website.
The documentary’s perspective on nuclear energy is summarized on the site as follows: “In the mid-20th century as societies began the transition to nuclear power and away from fossil fuels, a long-term PR campaign to scare the public began, funded in part by coal and oil interests. This campaign would sow fear about harmless low-level radiation and create confusion between nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. Looking squarely at the problem, Oliver Stone shows us that knowledge is the antidote to fear, and our human ingenuity will allow us to solve the climate crisis if we use it.”

Discussion at Harvard: In an article published in the Harvard Gazette, staff writer Anna Lamb describes a panel conversation about nuclear energy that Stone recently participated in following a preview of the film at the Harvard University Science Center. Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker introduced the screening by praising Stone as “an icon of Hollywood” who “is taking an active role in changing public consensus about nuclear power.” The film, notes Lamb, addresses public safety fears about nuclear energy by pointing out that new reactors have corrected the accident-related designs of earlier reactors and that “despite [previous] Hollywood portrayals, meltdowns in Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima have led to far fewer casualties than the fatal levels of air pollution produced annually by coal and other fossil fuels.”
The money aspect: Much of the panel discussion at Harvard centered around the issues of cost and economics, with Stone and Nuclear Now co-writer Joshua S. Goldstein arguing that the nuclear industry is working to address high production costs. Goldstein highlighted the case of South Korea, which has successfully reduced the capital costs of plant construction through sustained nuclear development programs and repetition of production processes. “In South Korea, they’re building the same thing over and over, and cost comes down,” he said.
Panelist Richard Lester, an associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an American Nuclear Society member, added that another way the nuclear industry can reduce production costs is through greater innovation. Unfortunately, “the regulatory game” in the United States, as Lester called it, leads to high costs and long delays for innovative nuclear startups.
The panel moderator, Harvard environmental science and engineering professor Daniel Schrag, emphasized that even with success overseas, cost estimates for construction of new reactors in the United States remain in the tens of billions of dollars. He argued that nuclear “requires somehow a big change in the economics” if it is going to have a significant effect on the climate change problem.
Public opinion: Stone’s expressed goal with Nuclear Now is to create a more positive public perception of nuclear energy. But the public’s view of nuclear power has seemingly been shifting in that direction, anyway. During the Harvard panel discussion, audience member John Marshall, the chief executive of the Potential Energy Coalition on climate change, noted that his organization conducted a public opinion survey in 2021 that suggested that only one in seven people opposed nuclear energy.
Conversation continues: Nuclear Now will no doubt be sparking new conversations about nuclear energy across the country and throughout the world as Stone continues his promotional appearances for the film. Another interesting discussion about Nuclear Now—featuring Stone, Goldstein, NASA physicist Weiping Yu, and radio/podcast host David Gornoski—is now available on Gornoski’s YouTube channel.

News source, The Hill, also wrote about and interviewed Stone. In some ways, I enjoyed this interview better:

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3998384-oliver-stone-makes-the-case-for-nuclear-power-amid-climate-crisis/

[77Port]

Remarkable article. Thanks for finding and posting.

"The private-sector HALEU supply chain that the draft RFPs are designed to build would help ensure that HALEU is available ..."

As an innovator, if not THE most significant innovator in the HALEU space, will LTBR and their boatload of patents get a fair share of the HALEU business?

Or will the spoils go to the mountain of lobbyists, to be handed out like political candy?

[boominator]

HALEU supply plans detailed in DOE draft solicitations and scoping notice

HALEU supply plans detailed in DOE draft

Statement of need: The DOE estimates that more than 40 metric tons of HALEU could be needed by the end of the decade, with additional HALEU required each year to fuel a fleet of advanced reactors.

“We must jump-start a commercial-scale, domestic supply chain for HALEU,” said Kathryn Huff, assistant secretary for nuclear energy. “Acquiring these services in the United States will reduce reliance on Russia, create American jobs, and support U.S. climate and energy security goals.”

The HALEU Availability Program was authorized by the Energy Act of 2020 to ensure HALEU will be available to support civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided $700 million for the program. From those funds, $500 million is earmarked to help establish a sustainable commercial supply chain for HALEU. The program will prioritize environmental justice issues and “be responsive to President Biden's Justice40 Initiative,” according to the DOE.

The DOE’s notice of intent provides more information and explains that “initial sources of uranium to meet the requirements of the [program] could be existing DOE stockpiles of highly enriched uranium (HEU) that would be processed or downblended into HALEU.” Those activities are both outside of the proposed action and already “covered by separate existing or pending NEPA documentation.”

The private-sector HALEU supply chain that the draft RFPs are designed to build would help ensure that HALEU is available once DOE HEU stockpiles are depleted. As stated in the notice of intent, “As DOE stockpiles are depleted, production would need to be supplemented by or transition to commercially operated facilities. To accelerate development of a sustainable commercial HALEU supply capability, an initial public/private partnership is recommended to address the high-fidelity (high-confidence demand) HALEU market (e.g., fuel for demonstration reactors) plus a percentage of the projected commercial demand for power reactors.”

Divide and conquer: There are several steps along the way from mined uranium to reactor-ready HALEU fuel, and the RFPs split those front-end activities into two parts, loosely labeled enrichment and deconversion. The enrichment RFP includes mining and milling, conversion, enrichment (which may be performed at two separate locations), and storage of UF6. The deconversion RFP includes transportation of enriched UF6, deconversion to oxide and metal, and storage. Under both RFPs, the DOE may award one or multiple contracts.

[boominator]

Oliver Stone Wants To Atone For Hollywood’s Sins Against Nuclear Energy

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oliver-stone-nuclear_n_645571dfe4b0e58960e454da

“Look at the horror films of the 1950s.
My business, the film business, did no favors to nuclear at all.
You saw monsters everywhere. People get these crazy ideas.
This is what fear does to a society. It ruins progress.”
(Oliver Stone)

[boominator]

Oliver Stone is bringing “Nuclear Now” to select theaters

https://nei.org/news/2023/coming-to-a-theater-near-you-nuclear-now

Now playing in theaters nationwide!

[Going_4_It]

Act aims to accelerate US deployment of new nuclear

05 April 2023

The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023, introduced to the US Senate by a bipartisan group, aims to support efforts to develop and deploy new nuclear technologies at home and abroad by measures such as regulatory support for advanced nuclear technology deployment and facilitating the repurposing of conventional energy sites.

Full article:

https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Act-aims-to-accelerate-US-deployment-of-new-nuclea

[boominator]

Germany closes last nuclear plants

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/atomic-angst-over-germany-closes-last-nuclear-plants/ar-AA19RHpT

'ECONOMIC STUPIDITY'

Arnold Vaatz, a former lawmaker for Merkel's Christian Democrats (SPD), said the decision was also intended to sway a state election in Baden Wuerttemberg where the issue was playing into the hands of the Greens.

"I called it the biggest economic stupidity by the party since (it was first in government it) 1949 and I'm sticking to that," Vaatz, one of only five conservative lawmakers who opposed the exit bill, told Reuters.