AMPERA partners with Lawrence Livermore lab on advanced nuclear fuel development

By Atlas Watchline Staff · Corporate · August 26, 2026

AMPERA said it has started a partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop and optimize advanced nuclear fuel for compact and subcritical reactor systems.

AMPERA said on Aug. 26 that it has formed a partnership project with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop and optimize advanced nuclear fuel for compact and subcritical reactor systems.

The company said the work is aimed at helping build a domestic supply chain for advanced fuel and improve the manufacturing process for TRISO fuel, a type of fuel designed for advanced reactors. AMPERA said the collaboration will draw on shared expertise, equipment, software and other resources.

According to the release, the project will evaluate and optimize liquid-metal spray technology to produce uniform spherical thorium-232 kernels for TRISO fuel. It will also focus on computational modeling, material and nozzle compatibility testing, high-temperature process development, particle characterization, safe handling of radioactive materials and the transfer of scalable process and design rules.

The release described Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration. AMPERA said the partnership builds on earlier research led by an LLNL team using droplet-based liquid-metal jet technology.

AMPERA said it is building a platform for subcritical microreactors that it says could serve data centers and defense, industrial and maritime uses. The release says subcritical systems rely on an external neutron source to start and sustain operation, which gives operators another layer of control.

AMPERA also tied the lab work to its broader fuel strategy. The company said its advanced-fuel platform relies on proprietary processes protected by trade secrets and an intellectual-property portfolio that includes more than 60 patents covering liquid-metal spray technology, along with additional patent applications tied to advanced manufacturing methods and TRISO-fuel technologies.

Dr. Viktor Sukhotskiy, identified in the release as a research engineer and project leader at LLNL, said the collaboration may combine the lab’s research capabilities with an industrial partner’s technology needs and commercial focus. He said it may also help further develop liquid-metal jet technology as an advanced manufacturing method.

AMPERA founder and CEO Brian Matthews said scalable domestic advanced-fuel production is central to the company’s strategy. He said the collaboration could help speed the technical foundation for vertical integration of fuel supply while reducing supply-chain costs and risks.

The company also pointed to prior work it unveiled on July 1, when it said it had demonstrated a full-scale module of its core architecture using additive manufacturing. AMPERA said the spherical monolithic gyroid structure was 3D-printed from silicon carbide and is intended to support up to 30 years of operation without refueling.

AMPERA said in June that it had disclosed an advanced-fuel strategy to support a secure thorium-fuel supply chain and future production capacity. The release did not give a timeline for completion or say when the collaboration would produce commercial fuel.

Sources

• PR Newswire release

Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.

This is the AMP version of the article. Read the full article on Atlas Watchline.