Nuclear energy company Curio has secured $2.5 million in new U.S. Department of Energy funding to test key parts of its NuCycle nuclear fuel recycling process using actual used nuclear fuel and transuranic elements.<\/p>\n
The funding from the DOE\u2019s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will be combined with about $1 million from Curio. The money will support lab-scale testing of two operations designed to separate useful nuclear materials from radioactive waste.<\/p>\n
The work will focus on selective fluoride volatility and electrowinning, two processes that are central to Curio\u2019s NuCycle technology. The company says the goal is to eventually recycle used nuclear fuel instead of treating it solely as waste.<\/p>\n
The new research will take place at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). At PNNL, researchers will test fluorination to separate uranium from other radioactive materials. At SRNL, researchers will develop electrowinning equipment that uses high temperatures and electricity to extract transuranic elements from molten salt.<\/p>\n
Recycling nuclear waste<\/p>\n
Curio\u2019s approach is designed to recover materials from used nuclear fuel that still contain potential energy value. The company is targeting a laboratory and demonstration facility capable of processing up to 4,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel.<\/p>\n
The latest award builds on a $5 million ARPA-E cost-share project that began in 2023. That effort involved side-by-side laboratory demonstrations of the complete NuCycle process at Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and PNNL. Curio said the project reached key go\/no-go milestones in September 2025, providing data on the chemistry and reaction rates involved in the process.<\/p>\n
The new funding moves the technology toward testing with actual used nuclear fuel and transuranics, rather than relying only on simulated materials. That could provide data needed to determine how the individual separation steps perform under more realistic conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain encouraged by the Trump Administration\u2019s forward-looking actions in support of innovation surrounding the recycling of used nuclear fuel,\u201d said Ed McGinnis, CEO of Curio.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis additional funding is further evidence that the DOE intends to embrace new technologies that will not only reduce the amount of nuclear waste in storage, but also capitalize on the untapped resources even beyond fuel that are currently sitting in domestic reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
From testing to deployment<\/p>\n
Alongside the laboratory work, Curio will develop preliminary engineering designs for the fluorination<\/a> and electrowinning equipment. The company also plans to work on regulatory requirements, including a regulatory engagement plan, white papers addressing regulatory questions and an analysis of potential exemptions.<\/p>\n Curio says it is targeting deployment by the end of 2027 and is pursuing a Part 70 operating license application. The company has also signed agreements or memoranda of understanding with nuclear industry companies including NuScale, Framatome and Sargent & Lundy.<\/p>\n The technology is part of a broader push to develop ways of extracting more value from the growing inventory of used nuclear fuel<\/a>. If the process can be demonstrated at larger scales, recycling could potentially reduce the amount of material requiring long-term storage while recovering uranium and transuranic elements for further use.<\/p>\n