Orano and Zeno Power have agreed to partner to secure a supply chain of americium-241 from Orano’s spent nuclear fuel recycling operations in France.
Through the agreement, Zeno will make a multi-million-dollar investment to gain priority access to large quantities of americium-241 annually from Orano’s la Hague used fuel treatment and recycling site in Normandy, France, according to Orano’s Wednesday press release.
Zeno is a privately held company, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, that develops radioisotope power systems (RPS) that convert recycled nuclear materials into batteries. It will use americium-241 secured from Orano’s fuel recycling for its space nuclear batteries, according to the release.
With the agreement, Zeno said it also hopes to advance its broader strategy to build a strong nuclear fuel supply chain.
The agreement builds on the partnership between Orano and Zeno, Orano said. The two companies explored industrial production of americium-241 powder at the la Hague site in 2022.
The partnership set forth a feasibility study to evaluate economic, logistical and technical pathways.
“Our work with Zeno demonstrates one of the significant values of recycling used nuclear fuel,” Orano’s recycling business unit’s senior executive vice president Corinne Spilios said in the release. “This agreement once again demonstrates the value of recycling recoverable nuclear materials, which allows for energy production while conserving natural resources”.
Americium-241 is a long-lived isotope that can produce gamma radiation. The isotope’s use ranges from smoke detectors and industrial applications to space power systems.
Zeno is also currently developing an americium-fueled RPS for NASA to power lunar rovers, landers and infrastructure on the Moon, according to the release.