Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs.

Through NANO Nuclear Energy Inc., AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy.  Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated fuel business of its kind in North America.

Exclusive patent license for a high-capacity HALEU transportation IP package – License No. 23-LA-132, Patent No: US 11,699,534 B2

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. has signed an agreement with Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH (GNS) to undertake a wide-ranging project to produce an optimized HALEU transportation system solution based on NANO Nuclear’s exclusively licensed fuel transportation basket design.

The agreement encompasses a study for the transport of multiple HALEU nuclear fuel types, including uranium oxide, TRISO particles, uranium-zirconium hydride, uranium mononitride, and salt fuel for molten salt reactors.

This agreement reflects the NANO Nuclear’s commitment to enhancing the safety and efficiency of transporting next-generation nuclear fuels, with GNS’ expertise playing a crucial role in swiftly advancing a robust, innovative, and compliant solution. GNS is the leading German specialist in solutions for the treatment and safe packaging of radioactive materials, particularly in the development, licensing and manufacturing of transport and storage casks, as well as in technology for waste processing and dismantling.

The agreement’s scope of work includes the conceptual design of a new HALEU transportation solution that is tailored to the particular needs of various fuel types. GNS will oversee a comprehensive study that includes a detailed description of the transportation system, bills of materials for critical components, conceptual drawings, risk assessments, and cost estimates for design, licensing, and manufacturing.

The study will be conducted under the formal NRC Quality Assurance program, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and alignment with NANO Nuclear’s long-term strategy for safe and efficient fuel transportation. The agreement also includes an option for GNS to conduct a thorough analysis of four specific fuel forms: TRISO pebbles, uranium-zirconium hydride (U-ZrHx), uranium mononitride (UN), and molten salt reactor fuel salt.