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- The US Government approval of a US$700 million (A$998 million) package to develop uranium fuels for small modular reactors (SMRs) gives Silex Systems (SLX) a number of new opportunties
- The government funding is to support a high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) availability program over the next four years
- The company’s exclusive licensee of its laser technology, Global Laser Enrichment, will explore opportunities to be a potential participant in the program
- Shares in Silex are down 2.58 per cent, trading at $3.40 as of 3:07 pm AEST
Silex Systems (SLX) has expressed its support for the US government’s passing into law of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022.
The IRA includes a US$700 million funding package to support the high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) availability program over the next four years by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
HALEU is the fuel required by many emerging advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) which the company said are the next generation of nuclear power technology.
The company’s exclusive licensee of its laser technology Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) will explore opportunities to be a potential participant in the program.
Under the IRA, the US$700 million of funding will be spent in three categories – licensing, enrichment and general support.
Majority of the funding will go towards the enrichment category where the DOE will give US$500 million to produce HALEU as fast as possible and provide it for SMR developers.
CEO and Managing Director Michael Goldsworthy said the signing into law is a pivotal turning point in the revitalisation of nuclear power in the US.
“The IRA is a cornerstone of America’s response to climate change, and recognises nuclear power as a critical component of a carbon free, resilient and stable electricity grid.
“As the US Government ramps up initiatives to domesticate its nuclear fuel supply chain and lessen its dependence on nuclear fuel imports, particularly from Russia, we expect GLE may have increasing opportunities to commercialise the SILEX technology.”
The IRA requires funding provided by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s program through a competitive merit-based process and spends the money by September 2026.
Together with Cameco, Silex is reviewing the potential to accelerate GLE’s commercialisation of the SILEX technology in order to respond to these opportunities.
Over the past few years, Silex has been developing its namesake technology for uranium enrichment with GLE across multiple markets.
Shares in Silex were down 2.58 per cent, trading at $3.40 as of 3:07 pm AEST.
