A Swiss startup is developing an innovative nuclear reactor powered by thorium and radioactive waste. It has drawn significant attention in recent days.
Geneva’s Transmutex announced the completion of a US$23 million funding round for its invention on Monday. New York’s Steel Atlas and Union Square Ventures led the initiative.
Transmutex says using thorium as fuel instead of uranium-235 does not produce plutonium or other long-lived waste. The power unit can also use the waste generated by conventional reactors as fuel.
The company claims the reaction inside the containment vessel can easily be stopped within 2 milliseconds for safety assurance.
“It is rare to find a company developing novel, world-changing technology that is already preparing to deliver on commercial interest after just a few years,” Cameron Porter, Partner at Steel Atlas and lead investor, said.
The World Economic Forum recognized the company as one of its top 100 most promising Technology Pioneers at last year’s annual meeting in Davos. Scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) founded Transmutex in 2019.
“By engaging with the Forum as a tech pioneer we will engage with government officials, multinationals’ CEOs, innovative founders and young leaders from around the world who are passionate about fighting climate change,” CEO Franklin Servan-Schreiber said last June.
Thorium more abundant than uranium
Schreiber says thorium can be found throughout the Earth’s crust and that its abundance makes it a superior alternative to uranium. The World Nuclear Association agrees that thorium is more abundant in nature than uranium is.
India is particularly interested in utilizing thorium as an alternative. The nation has come to realize that it won’t have enough uranium to support its nuclear energy goals, according to Schreiber.
“What if it turns out that there is an approach that addresses the fundamental problems of safety cost and long-lived waste that have hindered the traditional nuclear industry?” Albert Wegner, Managing Partner at Union Square, said.
“A reactor design that is guaranteed to be safe and can reduce the radiotoxicity of long-lived waste from 300,000 years down to 300 years?”
He says that’s exactly what the team at Transmutex has developed.
We need a new civilian nuclear for reliable base-load power. @Transmutex_SA is building that infrastructure globally — from fuel fabrication to waste management and subcritical energy production optimized with the most advanced in-house simulation software. https://t.co/LMcN5ZX1YX
— Cameron Porter (@Cam39Porter) January 29, 2024
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Transmutex will employ more staff with funds
The nuclear engineering company plans on expanding its team with the newly raised funds. Transmutex intends to establish an additional research facility outside of Switzerland too. The startup is currently deciding which country would be best for it.
“This facility will serve as the centre for a global engineering platform whose purpose will be to accelerate the deployment of this new technology globally,” Talal Attieh, Partner at Steel Atlas, said.
Despite the innovative work being completed by Transmutex, the demand for conventional uranium needed for standard reactor fuel continues to grow.
Its price is the highest it has been since 2007 and its rise shows no signs of slowing. It could likely be worth more than US$160 per pound by the end of the year.
This rising demand and supply shortage contributed to the world’s top uranium company Kazatomprom (FRA: 0ZQ) announcing that it expected production issues this year and next. The uranium operator’s home country Kazakhstan continues to be the world’s number one supplier.
Canada, which sits in spot number two for global uranium production, has been accelerating its production and exploration rate to try and keep up as well.
Thankfully, a newly permitted uranium mine being developed in Saskatchewan’s section of the Athabasca Basin by NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE) (NYSE: NXE) may be capable of supplying up to 23 per cent of the world’s uranium in the coming years.
Several junior explorers like ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF), Stallion Uranium Corp. (TSX-V: STUD) (OTCQB: STLNF) and IsoEnergy Ltd. (TSX-V: ISO) (OTCQX: ISENF) have been ramping up their efforts to discover new deposits in the Athabasca Basin.
Despite producing substantial quantities of uranium since 1975, that jurisdiction is relatively underexplored. The majority of its resources are still in the ground.
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