Lightbridge awards export license for Norwegian reactor work

The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) of Norway was awarded an export license that will allow fuel developed by the Lightbridge Corp. to be used at their Halden Research Reactor, the company announced on Monday.

This license is valid for a three-year period has the possibility of extension. Activity at the Halden reactor will be focused on the irradiation testing of metallic fuel samples developed by the company in prototypic commercial operating conditions.

With this announcement the company also reports that initial task and purchase orders have been issued by IFE and the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.

"This export approval, along with a release of initial task and purchase orders with CNL and IFE, illustrate our rapid progress toward lead test assembly demonstration of our advanced metallic nuclear fuel in a commercial power reactor,” Lightbridge CEO and President Seth Grae said. “We are pleased to have this export approval secured by our Norwegian partners, and remain fully committed to the start of full-scale lead test assembly demonstration in a commercial reactor in the 2020 to 2021 time frame.”

The company states that third-party analysis of their fuel designs found that they allowed for operation temperatures to be dropped by an average of 1,000 degrees Celsius (1832 degrees Fahrenheit) and increased power of between 10 and 17 percent, depending on the length of the fuel cycle.