Gates-backed nuclear company, ASP Isotopes, plans plant to manufacture nuclear fuel

TerraPower, a Bill Gates-funded reactor company, and ASP Isotopes announced on Wednesday that they had struck a deal for the production of a new fuel. This fuel is currently only produced in Russia in commercial quantities, but will be used in a future generation of nuclear power stations.

Why it's important

Both major U.S. political groups support nuclear power, but Russia is the sole major supplier of fuel for the new reactors that companies are planning to build, which is called HALEU (high assay low-enriched uranium).

Companies in the United States are racing to produce HALEU to meet the demand for next-generation small modules reactors, including TerraPower’s $4 billion Natrium facility in Wyoming that is planned to be built on an old coal power plant.

TerraPower was forced to postpone the Natrium launch by two years, to 2030, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The U.S. is looking to support the new HALEU providers and has started awarding contracts this month to four U.S. based companies.

Where would the Haleu plant be built?

The companies have not disclosed where the HALEU factory will be located. Sources within the company said that it was likely to be built in South Africa.

KEY QUOTE

TerraPower's head said that the facility would complement various HALEU suppliers who are in development. TerraPower's chief executive and president Chris Levesque said, "We knew the HALEU was seen as a challenging issue and we are kind of solving it by belt and suspenders."

By the Numbers

The companies didn't reveal any financial details about the deal. They called it a "termsheet."

APSI chief executive Paul Mann stated that the facility could start with tens or even hundreds of millions instead of billions as some plans would require to make HALEU.

HALEU fuel is uranium enriched to a maximum of 20%, compared to the fuel in U.S. nuclear reactors today which is only enriched to 5%. Non-proliferation specialists have warned that HALEU fuel could pose a weapon risk if it fell into the wrong hands. Fuel enriched up to 10% or 12% is safer. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast; Reporting by Timothy Gardner.)

(source: Reuters)