One of the big question marks hanging over the TerraPower nuclear plant in Kemmerer has been a commercial-scale source of the fuel the plant will need, high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
TerraPower, founded by billionaire Bill Gates, seems to have answered that question with a new agreement it’s signed with a South African Company for an exclusive 10-year supply.
The company is ASP Isotopes Inc., which describes itself as an advanced materials company producing a range of isotopes used by multiple industries. This production includes medical-grade isotopes like yterrbium-176 and nickel 64, isotopes that have some thermodynamic similarities with uranium.
The company believes it can leverage those similarities to significantly reduce the time it takes to stand up a new HALEU facility to supply TerraPower.
Under the terms of the agreement, ASP’s U.S.-based subsidiary, Quantum Leap Energy, would build the plant at an as-yet undecided location. TerraPower would provide some money to help build it in exchange for an exclusive supply from the new plant.
The timeline calls for the plant to be ready to supply commercial quantities of HALEU by 2027 for the TerraPower Natrium plant, which plans to be operational by 2030.
Construction at the TerraPower site in Kemmerer has already begun. Gates was in Kemmerer in June for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the plant.
All About HALEU
TerraPower’s Natrium technology is the first of several advanced nuclear reactor concepts that are working their way through the federal regulatory process.
The idea is to use molten sodium as a coolant for a plant that can produce up to 500 MW of electricity for more than 5.5 hours at peak demand. That will allow it to serve as a peaking plant for energy grids which have a high proportion of interruptible renewable power sources, adding stability.
TerraPower is not the only concept in the works, though. There are 20 U.S. companies developing various ideas for advanced nuclear reactor concepts, all of which need a higher grade of enriched uranium.
A stable source of HALEU has been one of the most challenging obstacles facing TerraPower and these other projects.
Conventional nuclear fleets have run on uranium-235 enriched up to 5%, but HALEU runs with uranium enriched between 5% to 20%. There are no American companies, or even North American companies, that can provide that supply right now.
The Nuclear Energy Institute is projecting demand for HALEU in the range of 3,000 metric tons by 2035, and ASP says it already has customer interest in excess of $30 billion for HALEU.
Uranium Resurgence
The spiking demand has restarted Wyoming’s dormant uranium industry and created interest around the globe in starting up HALEU production.
Originally, TerraPower had planned to source its HALEU from Russia, at least in the beginning stages. But after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it decided to develop a domestic source instead.
TerraPower Director of External Affairs Jeff Navin had told Cowboy State Daily previously that the company has always been hopeful it can use a domestic source for its fuel.
“But it’s still a little bit of a question mark as to how quickly the government’s going to be able to move,” he added at the time. “And how quickly the private sector will respond.”
TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque in a media release said that the agreement with ASP reflects the company’s strong a commitment to a commercial-scale source of HALEU from domestic and allied suppliers.
“We are optimistic about ASP Isotopes enrichment capabilities and planned timeline to help ensure advanced nuclear energy can achieve its necessary role in meeting climate energy targets.”
Other Agreements Still In Place
TerraPower has multiple agreements already in place with various American companies for HALEU production.
Among these is a memorandum of understanding with Centrus Energy Corp. at its Piketon, Ohio, facility.
TerraPower has been working with Centrus since 2021, but announced an expansion of that collaboration more recently in July 2023.
Other agreements have been signed with Framatome to develop a HALEU metallization plant and Uranium Energy to explore using Wyoming uranium as a fuel source.
It’s not clear how the agreement with ASP Isotopes affects the likelihood of using Wyoming uranium. Cowboy State Daily has sent TerraPower questions about that, but had not received a response at the time this story was published.
Once enriched, Natrium’s fuel will be fabricated at the Natrium Fuel Facility in Wilmington, North Carolina, already under development at the Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas site, where both TerraPower and the U.S. Department of Energy have made significant investments.
TerraPower also said it remains an active member and participant of DOE’s HALEU consortium.
Lasers For The Win
Another factor that ASP believes sets it apart in the race to produce a Western source of HALEU is a laser-based enrichment method that its scientists have been developing.
To date, all the enriched uranium produced for the commercial market is produced using gaseous centrifuges. If ASP is successful in developing its technique, it would be the first to do so on a commercial scale.
ASP officials believe the process they are developing will be the most cost-efficient in the world. Not only that, but they believe the process can be used to enrich previously depleted uranium wastes.
With more than 1.7 million metric tons of depleted uranium tails, that will be a substantial cost advantage over traditional enrichment methods. At the same time, it will also help to use up wastes that could become an environmental hazard.
“Nuclear fuel has one of the most severely compromised supply chains of any material in the world,” ASP Isotopes and Quantum Leap Chairman and CEO Paul Mann said in a media release. “Over the last several decades the scientists at ASPI have developed what we believe to be the most advanced isotope enrichment technologies, and we look forward to accelerating these to support long-term climate goals.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
