U.S. Plans to Build Second Uranium Conversion Plant

Raven-Flint Nuclear Corporation announced on August 31 that it has been selected for the "Nuclear Energy Startup Platform" project advanced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and plans to build a pilot uranium conversion facility named "Torch" at INL.

The company stated that the "Torch" facility aims to become the second uranium conversion plant in the United States, with a designed annual processing capacity of 500 metric tons of uranium, capable of converting uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6). According to the company, this scale can meet the fuel demand of two large nuclear reactors. Upon project completion, it is intended to serve the U.S. Department of Energy and its affiliated agencies, and may provide domestically produced uranium hexafluoride for specific needs.

Raven-Flint noted that the only currently operating uranium conversion facility in the United States was built in 1958, and its capacity is insufficient to cover even half of the current demand of U.S. electric power companies. The company stated that building new domestic conversion capacity aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy's goals of securing domestic supplies of uranium production, conversion, enrichment, deconversion, and reduction.

In addition to being selected for the relevant project, Raven-Flint also confirmed that it has produced uranium hexafluoride using its proprietary "Corvus" process. This process is characterized by not using elemental fluorine gas. Traditional uranium hexafluoride production typically relies on elemental fluorine, which is highly corrosive and poses higher operational risks, making it one of the key factors contributing to the high capital costs, process complexity, and stringent safety management requirements of conventional conversion facilities. The company stated that, compared to traditional conversion technologies, this process aims to reduce capital costs by more than 30% and decrease dependence on foreign-produced hydrogen fluoride electrolyzer equipment.

The company also reported that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted its license application to conduct engineering-scale uranium operation testing at its radiochemistry laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Raven-Flint stated that the related research and development work will provide a technical basis for subsequent license applications for commercial-scale facilities.

Headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Raven-Flint is a private nuclear technology company primarily developing uranium conversion-related processes. The technology pathways the company is advancing include the Corvus process, which synthesizes uranium hexafluoride without using elemental fluorine gas, and the "Torch" pilot conversion facility with a designed annual processing capacity of 500 metric tons of uranium.