US Lightbridge Aims to Accelerate Advanced Nuclear Fuel Commercialization via INL Project

Lightbridge Corporation, a US advanced nuclear fuel technology company, announced on September 8 that it has been selected for the "Launchpad" program advanced by the US Department of Energy (DOE) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and plans to leverage this opportunity to accelerate the deployment of Lightbridge Fuel™ in commercial reactors.

According to a shareholder letter from Lightbridge Chairman and CEO Seth Grae, the company will pursue a "two-track parallel" commercialization strategy: on one track, under DOE authorization, it will build the Specialized High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium Extrusion Demonstration (SHED) facility to produce Lead Test Assemblies (LTAs); on the other track, it will continue advancing the Lightbridge Expandable Fuel Fabrication Facility (LEFF) to apply for a commercial-scale production license from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The company stated that this pathway is expected to shorten time-to-market by several years compared to previous plans.

Lightbridge stated that SHED is a pilot-scale facility to be deployed at Idaho National Laboratory, used to produce full-size Lightbridge fuel assemblies that can be loaded into commercial reactor cores for demonstration. Since the facility is considered part of a test program, SHED does not require an NRC license but will be advanced under DOE authorization. LEFF, by contrast, is positioned as a commercial-scale nuclear fuel fabrication facility and will remain subject to NRC licensing review.

The company stated that SHED will operate under the Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA-1) system from the outset, to support the future use of its produced Lead Test Assemblies in commercial reactor testing. Lightbridge believes SHED will also provide data and experience for LEFF's final design in areas such as equipment layout, process validation, automated production of full-length fuel rods, and quality assurance, and may help enhance the verifiability of LEFF's licensing review.

Regarding fuel application targets, Lightbridge stated that the core needs of utilities include increasing plant capacity factors, boosting power output, and enhancing safety margins. The company plans to have its fuel enter commercial nuclear plants in the form of Lead Test Assemblies by the mid-2030s, and strives to achieve large-scale commercial deployment by 2040.

Lightbridge stated that its fuel is designed for existing light-water reactors and can extend in-core residence time between refueling outages, thereby reducing the number of refueling shutdowns over the plant's lifetime. The company also stated that the fuel offers faster power ramp capabilities, helping to shorten transition periods before and after refueling outages.

In terms of power uprates, Lightbridge estimates that its fuel can increase power output of existing reactors by up to 10% without replacing the current steam generators; for plants upgraded with high-capacity steam generators, the power increase could reach up to 20%. The company also stated that if new reactors are designed from the outset with high-capacity steam generators and optimized for this fuel, the power increase potential could be further expanded.

Lightbridge stated that it has previously collaborated with laboratory engineering teams at INL's Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) to produce fuel samples, which are currently undergoing testing. In the future, SHED will continue to leverage INL capabilities to produce Lead Test Assemblies, with LEFF subsequently supporting commercial fuel fabrication. The company stated that it will disclose information in the coming quarters regarding post-irradiation examination results of fuel samples, SHED design and site construction progress, LEFF site selection, and associated costs and schedules.