By Rob Curran
ASP Isotopes stock surged after the company said it reached an agreement with Bill Gates-founded nuclear-power firm TerraPower to back the planned construction of a facility for producing enriched uranium.
Shares of the Washington, D.C., element-enrichment company were up 56% at $8.89 in premarket trading.
Under the term sheet announced Wednesday, privately held TerraPower would fund construction of the facility and purchase high assay low-enriched uranium produced there for 10 years after opening. The enriched uranium could eventually be used as fuel for modular and other forms of nuclear reactor.
The high energy demand from the rapid development of artificial intelligence is fueling a revival of interest in nuclear energy. Technology giants including Google, Amazon and Microsoft are investing billions of dollars to bring more nuclear-power plants online.
ASP's proprietary approach to element enrichment should allow it to build a facility more rapidly and at lower cost than a traditional centrifuge plant, the company said.
ASP has three isotope-enrichment facilities in operation or under construction around Pretoria, South Africa, for applications including health care and high-performance semiconductors.
TerraPower has started laying the groundwork for a planned nuclear reactor on the site of a former coal plant in Wyoming.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 30, 2024 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)
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