The nuclear fuel startup incubated by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has grand ambitions for scaling up America’s nuclear fuel production. Which is exactly why they’re partnering up with the Department of Energy.
What’s happening:
- General Matter has signed a lease with the United States Department of Energy to build a new $1.5B USD uranium enrichment facility located in McCracken County, Kentucky
Why it matters:
- This is one of the single largest deals the United States Department of Energy has ever done with a private company for domestic uranium enrichment
Going deeper:
- General Matter’s new facility will produce low enriched uranium and high assay low enriched uranium at commercial scale to supply to advanced manufacturing companies located within America
- The United States Department of Energy will provide General Matter with a minimum of 7,600 cylinders of existing uranium hexafluoride for re-enrichement, which will save roughly $800M USD in disposal costs
The intrigue:
- General Matter previously made waves when they came out of stealth mode with a $50M USD strategic financing round led by Founders Fund and announced Peter Thiel would officially join the board
The fine print:
- General Matter’s new facility in Kentucky is still yet to begin construction and is not expected to be fully operational for nearly another decade
