Note 6. Research and Development Costs

INL Project

In 2022, Lightbridge entered into agreements with BEA, to support the development of Lightbridge Fuel™. These framework agreements use an innovative structure that consists of an “umbrella” SPPA and an “umbrella” CRADA, with an initial duration of seven years. Throughout the duration of these umbrella agreements, all R&D work contracted with BEA is through the issuance of PTSs. The initial phase of work under the two agreements will culminate in irradiation testing in the Advanced Test Reactor of fuel samples using enriched uranium supplied by the DOE. The initial phase of work aims to generate irradiation performance data for Lightbridge’s delta-phase uranium-zirconium alloy relating to various thermophysical properties. The data, which will be obtained during post-irradiation examination work, will support fuel performance modeling and regulatory licensing efforts for the commercial deployment of Lightbridge Fuel™. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded $0.3 million and $0.7 million in R&D expenses associated with INL, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company recorded $0.1 million and $0.3 million in R&D expenses associated with INL, respectively.

Romania Feasibility Study

On October 16, 2023, the Company engaged RATEN ICN in Romania to perform an engineering study to assess the compatibility and suitability of Lightbridge Fuel™ for use in CANDU reactors. The total price of approximately $0.2 million is payable in three installments, including an advance payment of $0.1 million and an interim milestone payment and final payment totaling approximately $0.1 million. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded zero and $0.1 million, respectively in R&D expenses associated with RATEN ICN.

Centrus Energy FEED Study

On December 5, 2023, the Company entered into an agreement with Centrus Energy to conduct a FEED study to add a dedicated LPFFF at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded zero and $0.2 million, respectively in R&D expenses associated with this FEED study.

In the second quarter of 2024, Centrus completed Phase 1 of the FEED Study and issued a report. In our judgement, the preliminary labor effort and schedule estimates show that the Piketon site may be better suited for deployment of an industrial-scale facility rather than a much smaller pilot-scale fuel fabrication facility the Company is looking to establish over the next few years. The final report is expected to be submitted by Centrus Energy in the third quarter 2024.

The following table presents the total R&D expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (rounded to millions):