SuperCritical Obtains Exclusive License for Uranium Extraction from Seawater Technology, Plans Industrial Deployment in the United States

SuperCritical Materials Corp., a U.S. developer of nuclear fuel and critical materials infrastructure, announced on July 24 that it has obtained an exclusive license from Battelle Memorial Institute for a patented uranium adsorbent technology used to extract uranium from seawater. The technology was originally developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and its research partners. Battelle Memorial Institute currently manages eight national laboratories for the U.S. federal government.

SuperCritical stated that the technology has been verified to extract uranium from seawater. The company has obtained authorization to deploy the technology in the United States, with the goal of advancing it to an industrial scale, and plans to further seek promotion to allied nations.

According to SuperCritical, as the deployment of advanced reactors accelerates, the upstream segments of the nuclear energy industry chain face higher requirements, including uranium supply, conversion, enrichment, High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) production, fuel fabrication, and other fuel cycle infrastructure construction. The company stated that its establishment is precisely aimed at addressing supply constraints in these segments.

The global oceans contain approximately 4.5 billion tons of uranium, more than 1,000 times the proven terrestrial uranium reserves. SuperCritical believes that advances in selective adsorption chemistry, materials science, and industrial deployment capabilities are expected to promote the development of some marine uranium resources and may support the recovery of other strategically significant materials from seawater.

The company also stated that the commercialization of the relevant technology is linked to U.S. federal initiatives such as increasing domestic mineral production, developing offshore critical minerals and resources, and revitalizing the nuclear industrial base. If industrial application is achieved, the technology could drive job demand in sectors such as manufacturing, engineering, marine operations, and construction, while strengthening the U.S. domestic nuclear fuel supply chain and providing support to allies seeking stable uranium and critical material sources.

SuperCritical's technical team includes scientists and managers who previously participated in PNNL's related technology research and development. Among them, Dr. Gary Gill, former Deputy Director of Marine Research at PNNL, is now a co-founder of SuperCritical. According to available information, Gill has long been engaged in research on uranium extraction from seawater and has published numerous peer-reviewed papers on the subject over the past 20 years.

Alexander Cannon Bryan, founder and CEO of SuperCritical, stated that if future economic development requires sufficient and reliable nuclear energy, it also requires a stable and reliable nuclear fuel supply. The company will build the relevant infrastructure to support the nuclear fuel supply and advance the technology toward commercial application.