TAMPA, Fla. — Zeno Power has signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Orano, a French nuclear recycler, to lock in a steady supply of americium-241 (Am-241) to fuel the U.S. startup’s long-duration space batteries.

The deal gives Zeno priority access to material recovered from used nuclear fuel in France, the Seattle-based venture announced Sept. 24, addressing a gap left by the scarcity of the plutonium-238 (Pu-238) isotope behind many NASA deep space missions.

Zeno said Am-241 is attractive because it occurs naturally in used nuclear fuel and has a half-life of more than 430 years, enabling power systems to operate for decades.

The seven-year-old venture is developing an americium-fueled nuclear battery, or radioisotope power system (RPS), for NASA to support lunar rovers, landers and infrastructure on the moon. By tapping Am-241 for Artemis and Moon-to-Mars missions, Zeno chief commercialization officer Harsh Desai said NASA can conserve scarce Pu-238 supplies for flagship missions to deep space.

First large-scale commercial americium production

Zeno began working with Orano three years ago to explore industrial-scale recovery of Am-241 at the French company’s la Hague site in northern France.

“We intend to fly an americium-fueled radioisotope power system by the end of the decade, and this fuel from Orano gives us the ability to quickly scale our systems to meet the demand we are seeing domestically and internationally,” Desai said via email.

“Americium-fueled RPSs will ensure that every lunar mission can survive and operate through the frigid lunar night and continue delivering power for years or even decades.”

Desai said Zeno has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies since 2022 on regulatory pathways for its plans. 

“Given our existing work and expertise in this area, we generally expect commercial missions to be approved in 12-24 months from launch vehicle selection,” he said.

Zeno is also developing strontium-fueled batteries under a Department of Defense contract for shorter, maritime-focused missions.

The supply chain expansion follows Zeno’s $50 million Series B funding round earlier this year to accelerate development of nuclear-powered systems for space and underwater applications.

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