Actinide is first startup to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)

git_rancher

A few hundred thousand dollars worth of tech replacing what used to be a massive industrial investment is amazing. And I thought enriching uranium is something that counties with nukes go to extreme lengths to make it not accessible.

datakan

So will we start bombing Dallas now?

fodkodrasz

So this is basically a calutron... a huge mass spectrometer. 1940s technology, upgraded with state-of-the-now control systems, and electromagnets. A formidable engineering work, but more of a breakthrough from legislation and compliance perspective possibly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron

josefritzishere

I have a bad feeling.

peri-cl

> "Actinide’s flagship commercial product: enriched ytterbium-176," To save HN a search: a stable isotope used as a neutron capture target, to produce lutetium-177[i], used in targeted radioligand therapies[ii]. Discussed once on HN[iii]. [i] https://isotopes.gov/Ytterbium-176_is_Available_Now [ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutetium_(177Lu)_vipivotide_te... [iii] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40690196 ( "Radioactive drugs strike cancer with precision (knowablemagazine.org)" )

shevy-java

They are killing the environment now. I remember this discussion some 25 or 30 years ago in serbia, e. g. depleted uranium. Well, guess some company always wants to find ways for dumping or lifting-up radioactive substance.

ortusdux

I've been following SuperCritical, a new startup working on Uranium extraction from sea water. My understanding is that the process is much more sustainable than mining, which makes it easier/faster to establish a domestic source vs the permits needed for a new US based mine. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/08/26/335139...

uygiugiu

General Matter is also working on HALEU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Matter

doodlebugging

Investors groups include: Neo Ventures - SE European VC group with mostly Bulgarian leadership and a diverse portfolio that doesn't mention Actinide at all; Mana Ventures - one of their companies is Flock Safety, the ubiquitous surveillance company in the recent news; Discipulus Ventures - MAGA supporting religious nutjobs from their own description in their opening paragraph [0], and from Forbes (paywalled) [1]; [0] https://www.discipulusventures.com/ [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2025/02/10/silicon-v... (paywall) Interesting revival of or use of old technology to accomplish their goal. I'm not sure this belongs as a private tech company. I feel like it should be under the control of the federal government and no, I don't care what the libertarians on HN think about it. This needs to be a regulated company and process with clear reporting responsibilities and permanently disruptive penalties for noncompliance by individuals and the corporation.

netik

This is highly dangerous, right? If a bad actor possess centrifuge technology and can divert this <20% enriched uranium, they are essentially days or weeks away from achieving weapons-grade material. This severely reduces the "breakout time" the international community relies on to detect and stop nuclear proliferation.