Curio® Announces Grant from U.S. Department of Energy to Further Develop NuCycle® Recycling Technology

Cost-Share Award green-lights development of pilot-scale equipment and technologies for light-water reactor used nuclear fuel recycling

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Curio®, a leader in advanced nuclear recycling technologies, today announced it has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to support the development of its proprietary NuCycle® technology for used nuclear fuel (UNF) recycling. Find the DOE news release at this link.

The funding will support a collaborative effort between Curio and key partners including Idaho National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and several other technical organizations to optimize for scale-up and commercialization NuCycle, which was designed to improve the economics of fuel recycling by increasing resource utilization through uranium recovery as UF₆, reducing high-level waste generation by completely recovering minor actinides and key isotopes, and enhancing security through co-extraction of transuranics.

The primary objective of the collaboration is to develop detailed engineering designs and specifications for NuCycle’s core processes and prepare for a pilot-scale demonstration.

Over the past three years, Curio has conducted cost-shared projects under the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E and GAIN initiatives, including laboratory-scale experiments, safeguards and security by design, advanced modeling and simulation, waste form development, and techno-economic analyses. These efforts have greatly reduced operational uncertainties and demonstrated individual unit operations.

“This award is further validation of Curio’s game-changing advanced nuclear recycling technology and process for the future of nuclear energy in the United States,” said Ed McGinnis, CEO of Curio. “With the Department of Energy’s partnership, Curio’s NuCycle is now moving decisively towards scaling up for ultimate full commercialization. NuCycle will fundamentally change how used nuclear fuel is processed and managed. By dramatically increasing resource recovery while minimizing waste and embedding safeguards by design, NuCycle is poised to dramatically unlock this untapped national resource in a safe, secure and economically robust manner.”

About Curio

Curio (https://www.curio.energy/) stands at the forefront of nuclear technology innovation, driving breakthroughs in sustainable nuclear power generation, fuel recycling, and waste management to usher in The 2nd Nuclear Era®. Committed to pioneering new solutions that reshape the future of nuclear energy, they are fostering partnerships and innovations that will redefine the industry for generations to come. Curio has achieved lab-scale validation across four DOE national labs, secured $14M in competitive federal grants, and partnered with Utilities Service Alliance (USA) for collaboration and supplier-partner agreement options for its 18 operating U.S. member reactors.

Contacts

Media Contacts:
Leeaht Guzi or Brian Hyland
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202-788-6100 or 201-410-4563