News & Events zu Lightbridge Corp (LTBR)LTBRLightbridge Corp

Lightbridge Accelerates Commercialization Plan with INL Project

"Selection for the Launch Pad INL program can help to accelerate our commercialization plan," said Seth Grae, chairman and CEO of Lightbridge. "Rather than waiting for a commercial fuel factory to be licensed before we could manufacture lead test assemblies, we now have a pathway toward DOE authorization for a dedicated Pilot Factory at INL, and we are negotiating the agreements and project scope with NRIC and INL. In parallel, the loop irradiation agreement we signed in August will enable irradiation testing of the clad Lightbridge Fuel rodlets in the ATR under the conditions similar to those in commercial pressurized water reactors. We believe the loop irradiation will allow us to go from the ATR directly to lead test assemblies in commercial nuclear power plants, rather than first deploying segments of fuel rods and lead test rods in commercial reactors."

Lightbridge Signs Project Task Statement with Battelle for Fuel Rod Testing

Lightbridge announced that it has entered into Project Task Statement No. 2 under its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with Battelle Energy Alliance, the U.S. Department of Energy's operating contractor for Idaho National Laboratory, securing access to the loop testing facility of INL's Advanced Test Reactor for the irradiation of clad Lightbridge Fuel rodlets. Under PTS No. 2, Lightbridge will test fuel rodlets fabricated from enriched uranium-zirconium alloy with cladding, in both cylindrical and multi-lobe geometry. The work builds directly on prior technical accomplishments under earlier project task statements with BEA, including fuel fabrication process development, and carries the program from materials and fabrication development into the irradiation testing that underpins qualification for commercial deployment in existing light-water reactors.

Lightbridge Receives Patent Allowance for Multi-Zone Fuel Element from Japan Patent Office

Lightbridge announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the Japan Patent Office, or JPO, for Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-513980, titled "Multi-Zone Fuel Element." The allowed claims cover the fuel element design itself, a fuel assembly incorporating that design, and a method of producing the element through additive manufacturing, extending protection for a core element of Lightbridge Fuel into a market with one of the world's largest nuclear power markets. The patent covers a fuel rod composed of three layers of different materials, with each layer varying in thickness along the rod's length. That shape can be designed to control how the fuel behaves at different points inside the reactor, improving performance and safety margins. The claims also cover the fuel assembly into which these rods go and the 3D printing method used to build them.