Curio submitted a letter of intent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to start the pre-application work and the eventual submission of its operating license for the NuCycle used nuclear fuel recycling facility at a site yet to be determined.
According to Curio’s May 27 press release, the company plans to seek approval for the fuel recycling production facility and site selection is underway.
“The initiation of this application process marks a key and decisive moment for Curio and our nation as we commercially deploy what will be the world’s most advanced and capable used nuclear fuel recycling facility based on our game-changing NuCycle technology,” Ed McGinnis, Curio president and CEO, said in the statement.
Curio’s proposed used fuel recycling facility is designed to process up to 4,000 metric tons of commercial spent fuel from light water reacots on an annual basis. The products of the NuCycle process, which was tested and validated by four Department of Energy national laboratories in September 2025, will be enriched uranium hexafluoride, trans-uranic TRUfuel and various isotopes, Curio said.
Curio said the recycling facility will accommodate used nuclear fuel feedstock, ranging from low-enriched light water reactor fuel and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to DOE-managed fuel. It will also include a spent fuel feedstock staging facility, the company added.