LTBR News & Events

Lightbridge announced the start of irradiation testing of its enriched uranium-zirconium alloy fuel material samples in the Advanced Test Reactor, ATR, at Idaho National Laboratory, INL. This milestone represents a significant step forward in the Company's fuel development and testing program conducted under its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, CRADA, with INL. "Commencement of irradiation testing of Lightbridge's enriched uranium-zirconium alloy samples at the ATR represents a major achievement for both INL and Lightbridge," said Dr. Jess Gehin, Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science & Technology at INL. "The ATR provides a world-class platform for evaluating advanced nuclear materials under realistic conditions, and we look forward to analyzing the results of this important experiment."

Lightbridge announced the presentation of three technical papers at the American Nuclear Society's TopFuel 2025 conference, held October 5-9, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. These papers highlight Lightbridge's ongoing advancements in nuclear fuel design, fabrication, and performance assessment, contributing to the industry's efforts to enhance reactor safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The papers, authored by Lightbridge's fuel development experts, demonstrate innovative methodologies and conceptual assessments for Lightbridge Fuel, the Company's proprietary metallic nuclear fuel technology. Key details include: "Development of a Method for Comparison of Lightbridge's Advanced Fuel Materials Against Conventional UO2 Fuel Performance" by R. Wang, C. Kirby, K. Paaren, B. Aktas, and S. Holcombe. This paper outlines a quantitative evaluation method using the OECD/NEA benchmark on the Three Mile Island Unit 1 Main Steam Line Break, to compare transient performance of Lightbridge's fuel material against standard uranium dioxide fuel in pressurized water reactors. "Conceptual Assessment of Lightbridge Fuel Post-CHF Performance" by Birol Aktas. This work provides a conceptual analysis of Lightbridge Fuel's behavior under post-critical heat flux conditions, emphasizing its potential to leverage a "time-at-temperature" strategy for improved operational flexibility and return-to-service options during anticipated operational occurrences, such as locked rotor events. "Lightbridge Fuel Fabrication Modeling in ABAQUS with Experimental Comparisons" by Kyle M. Paaren, Eric Shaber, and Scott Holcombe. This paper details finite element analysis simulations using ABAQUS to model the co-extrusion fabrication process for Lightbridge Fuel rods, validated against experimental data from Idaho National Laboratory, to predict material dimensions, stresses, and strains for fuel qualification.