Fluxnium develops seawater uranium extraction technology

Clean tech startup Fluxnium has developed a method to extract uranium from seawater, potentially unlocking vast reserves amid rising nuclear fuel costs and geopolitical supply concerns.

A neutral summary of Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel, published by TechCrunch. Summarised for the Ceeve reading list; the original reporting is TechCrunch's.

The U.S. plans to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050, but uranium prices have risen 75% over five years and domestic resources are limited. The ocean contains over 4 billion metric tons of uranium, sufficient for approximately 50,000 years. Fluxnium, a clean tech startup, reports it has solved the extraction problem using technology developed at U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories.

Fluxnium's approach uses specially made polymer fibers that attract dissolved uranium from seawater. The fibers, braided into long strands, are deployed at sea on buoys for 30 to 60 days, then brought ashore for uranium extraction and purification into yellowcake. The process produces no toxic tailings, and the fibers can be reused multiple times. Initial laboratory demonstrations showed extraction costs exceeding $200 per pound, but Fluxnium claims increased fiber surface area has reduced this substantially.

The company recently closed a $7 million seed round led by Congruent Ventures and participated in by Constellation Energy, which operates the largest U.S. nuclear fleet. CEO Jeff Green, a repeat entrepreneur, noted that uranium supply from existing mines is concentrated in geopolitically sensitive regions, creating structural shortages if nuclear capacity expands as projected. Job-seekers in nuclear energy and materials science should track such developments through Ceeve when tailoring applications to emerging fuel supply companies.

Read the original on TechCrunch

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