SuperCritical Materials has secured an exclusive license from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to commercialize a patented manufacturing process for recovering uranium and other critical materials from seawater.
The Austin, Texas-based company said the technology was developed through research supported by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) leading the scientific work.
Technology Targets Nuclear Fuel Supply
SuperCritical said the licensed technology has demonstrated the technical feasibility of extracting uranium from seawater at the laboratory scale. The company plans to commercialize the process in the United States before expanding deployment to allied countries.
The initiative comes as the United States seeks to strengthen domestic nuclear fuel supply chains to support the growing deployment of advanced nuclear reactors.
According to the company, the technology could also enable the recovery of other strategic minerals from seawater alongside uranium.
DOE Backs Commercialization
Ted Garrish, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, said the technology is progressing from research toward commercial deployment.
“Uranium extraction from seawater has been demonstrated at lab scale. DOE has invested in proving that this extraction process works. We are pleased to see this technology moving toward commercial deployment.”
SuperCritical said its technical team includes former PNNL researchers, including co-founder Dr. Gary Gill, who previously served as deputy director of the laboratory’s Marine Sciences Division and has worked on seawater uranium extraction research for more than 20 years.
Chief Executive Officer Alexander Canon Bryan said the company aims to help strengthen nuclear fuel supply infrastructure as demand for advanced nuclear energy grows.
The company said it plans to support multiple stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium supply, conversion, enrichment, high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), fuel fabrication and related infrastructure.
Source: MiningMagz