Did you know that government partnerships and funding have given rise to everyday technology like GPS or SIRI? The scaling of private sector technology into the commercial mainstream can often be traced back to public sector resources.
It may surprise you to learn that nuclear energy companies face the same financial hurdles as other private businesses. However, nuclear energy companies need support from the government in order to have breakthroughs in innovation. To build, operate, and maintain nuclear energy facilities, steady financial investments are required. Public sector oversight, financial investments, and access to government-owned and operated facilities can reduce costs for nuclear energy companies.
During the 2023 World Economic Forum, held at Davos, Switzerland, Lightbridge CEO, Seth Grae, sat down with We Don’t Have Time’s North America CEO, Sweta Chakraborty, to discuss how public and private partnerships have accelerated nuclear energy as a respected fossil-free fuel source of the future.
Private-Public Partnerships move technologies forward
Lightbridge (NASDAQ: LTBR) has been advancing its progress to make its patented nuclear fuel, Lightbridge Fuel, commercially viable and accessible. What makes Lightbridge Fuel unique from other nuclear fuels is that it works within existing and future reactors, and, “it is designed to dramatically enhance the safety, the non-proliferation and the economics of nuclear fuel as well as allowing reactors to load-follow with renewables on a zero carbon grid,” says Seth.
A recent major milestone in Lightbridge Fuel’s commercialization has been the long-term strategic partnership with Idaho National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy. The Idaho National Laboratory is an US Department of Energy national laboratory, and the Idaho National Laboratory is the United States’ leading center for nuclear energy research and development. Also, located on the premises of the Idaho National Laboratory is the forefront of nuclear technology — the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT). The US Government supports and supervises Lightbridge, enabling it to take its innovative Lightbridge Fuel to the next level. When building a private-public partnership, Seth says, “to help bring further private sector interest, it’s also important to see the government evaluating a technology and putting some of its own resources into it.”
With the journey into commercialization proceeding, Lightbridge is well-positioned to advance the nuclear industry into a safer and cheaper future. However, other businesses and ambitious projects have not been so fortunate. Other companies’ inability to engage in a private-public partnership leaves them unable to test, improve, and prove the concept of their new innovations. That’s why it's crucial for the public and private sectors to join forces. The collaboration between the public and private sectors opens the market for new opportunities that were previously out of reach for industry innovators. It also hints at the potential for more government funding and endorsement of alternative energy solutions that would otherwise stay shelved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyacnVLZ1pg
“Other U.S. national labs and other labs and institutes around the world can start to be made more available to industry, not just for government use, and the innovation that is coming out of industry really can pick up if they know they can quickly get into testing, prototyping, and demonstrating the product in these facilities.”
Leveraging private-public partnerships toward fossil-free energy will be crucial in paving a more sustainable future for all. As Seth Grae shared, “Nuclear, as a growing part of a diversified energy mix, will be essential to meet climate goals, and Lightbridge will be an important part of that.”
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62 w
Thank you for sharing. If you had to explain to 8 year old how Lihtbridge fuel is functioning and why it is good news for the planet, what would you say? I still find it hard to grasp
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63 w
Such strategic partnership is very vital that will bring a great solutions and the positive results.
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63 w
The development of generation 4 reactors is very interesting from a sustainability perspective, since these can recycle today’s nuclear waste and re-use it as ”fresh” fuel, while at the same time greatly reducing long-term radioactivity. Would it be possible for @Lightbridge to produce recycled nuclear fuel for those kinds of reactors?
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63 w
@markus_lutteman_141 that is a very good question! I would love to hear Lightbridge's answer on this topic!
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Very interesting interview from Davos. One thing I'm wondering is what makes Lightbridge Fuel unique from other nuclear fuels and is anyone else working on a similar technology?
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63 w
I didn't know that SIRI was a part of a public-private partnership! It will be essential to support fossil-free energy like nuclear through public-private partnerships to progress on our global climate goals.