Lightbridge Corporation (“Lightbridge,” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:
LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, today issued an
update letter to shareholders from Seth Grae, President & Chief
Executive Officer:
To Our Valued Shareholders,
I hope you and your family are safe and healthy
during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of great economic
uncertainty, we have taken steps to significantly reduce our burn
rate in order to preserve the cash we have on hand. Our goal is to
stretch our runway with current cash in our accounts to the end of
2021 while focusing on key research and development activities.
We remain committed to full transparency with
our shareholders. I am not satisfied with our stock price, and
don’t believe it reflects the value of Lightbridge. Aside from our
current cash position, we have invested tens of millions of dollars
to develop Lightbridge’s valuable technology, including Lightbridge
Fuel™ rods, assemblies, and manufacturing methods, that is
protected by a significant worldwide patent portfolio and trade
secrets.
The potential for our technology has been
recognized by major companies in the nuclear industry and the
Department of Energy (DOE) and its Idaho National Lab (INL). In
fact, the barriers to entry within the DOE and INL are quite
significant; to achieve this level of industry recognition is a
testament to the potential of Lightbridge’s technology, and speaks
to the wide disconnect in the market value of our stock.
Congress is providing historically high levels
of support for nuclear power, with large majorities of votes in
favor by members of both political parties. The administration is
strongly promoting nuclear power, from the White House setting
policies to DOE making its facilities and experts at national labs
available to companies developing advanced nuclear technologies.
Lightbridge has recently won a voucher from DOE’s Gateway for
Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program, to support
development of Lightbridge Fuel™ in collaboration with INL. We
expect a long and fruitful partnership with DOE and INL.
GAIN PROGRAM FUNDING AWARD
We ended fiscal year 2019 on a high note,
winning the GAIN voucher, our first DOE funding award for the
project, which helps position the Company for the next phase of
development. Lightbridge has formalized the project, entering into
a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) on April
22, 2020 with Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC1, the operating
contractor of INL, in collaboration with DOE. The scope of the
project includes experiment design for irradiation of Lightbridge
metallic fuel material samples in the Advanced Test Reactor at INL.
We expect the project to commence soon.
The federal government has made nuclear
technology a strategic priority. We believe that demonstrating
excellent performance under the GAIN program, along with
demonstrating the value that Lightbridge’s technology offers to
DOE, will be helpful in future grant applications. DOE is mandated
by law with the responsibility for removing used fuel from all
commercial U.S. nuclear power plant sites. When and where DOE will
move that fuel is not yet known. When Lightbridge Fuel™ is brought
to market, it will reduce the amount of used fuel per unit of
electricity generated, creating a benefit for DOE, which would have
less used fuel to move and handle. This will also support DOE’s
nonproliferation mission, since Lightbridge Fuel™ will provide
enhanced proliferation resistance.
LIGHTBRIDGE’S CO-EXTRUSION MANUFACTURING
PROCESS
We released a video in late December 2019,
demonstrating Lightbridge’s co-extrusion manufacturing process
using surrogate materials to produce full commercial-length
Lightbridge Fuel™ rods for large light water reactors and small
modular reactors. We selected the surrogate materials in the
demonstration to simulate the flow stresses, temperatures and
extrusion pressures expected in the manufacture of actual
Lightbridge Fuel™ rods, which will utilize a uranium-zirconium
alloy.
LIGHTBRIDGE’S EXPANDING INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
We are also expanding our intellectual property
protection. We recently received a “Decision to Grant” from the
European Patent Office for a patent related to a Lightbridge
metallic fuel assembly design for use in CANDU-type reactors. This
extends Lightbridge's patent portfolio coverage and expands our
market opportunities globally. According to the World Nuclear
Association, there are 46 CANDU-type pressurized heavy water
reactors in use around the world. The intellectual property in our
proprietary fuel designs reflects years of research and effort by
our team, including leading experts within the nuclear energy
field. Our metallic fuel designs can also be adapted for use in
nearly all other power reactors around the world.
It is our goal to bring Lightbridge Fuel™ to
market as quickly, and at the lowest cost to stockholders, as
practical. We are designing the fuel to make existing reactors able
to compete and win financially against natural gas, renewables, and
other nuclear fuels. Lightbridge Fuel™ is also compatible with and
can further improve the economics of new smaller, safer reactor
designs that will significantly increase the amount of carbon-free
energy.
HISTORIC LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
FOR NUCLEAR INNOVATION
We are operating in perhaps the friendliest
government environment for nuclear research in several generations,
with bipartisan support. The federal government is now providing
small American companies with a greater opportunity than it has in
the past to develop advanced nuclear technologies within its
national laboratories. The government is making available reactors
and other facilities to the industry, which includes Lightbridge,
as shown with our first GAIN voucher award. In December 2019,
Congress voted to approve appropriations for fiscal year 2020 that
included $1.49 billion for nuclear energy programs, an increase of
approximately $167 million over 2019.
We were honored that Lightbridge was included in
a meeting held with President Trump in the White House in February
2019 with leaders of the nuclear power industry, which helped lead
to the idea of the Nuclear Fuel Working Group (NFWG). On April 23,
the NFWG released its report: Restoring America’s Competitive
Nuclear Advantage: A Strategy to Assure U.S. National Security.
The report, which represented a
whole-of-government approach, with input from experts across
government departments and agencies, included a wide range of
strategic priorities that align with the benefits of Lightbridge
Fuel™, including the backing of American innovation to support U.S.
national security goals, including overtaking China and Russia in
the international civil nuclear marketplace. Prominent in the
report were stated commitments towards funding research and
development for advanced nuclear fuels and reactors to use
high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and backing
commercialization of small modular reactors, as well as new fuel
technologies to make nuclear power even safer.
We have been designing Lightbridge Fuel™ to meet
all these goals. Our technology will help enable the vision for
nuclear power manifested in these policies. Having recently
received government funding support through the GAIN program, we
believe Lightbridge is well positioned for continuing work with
national laboratories, and the timing couldn’t be better for
Lightbridge to leverage its technology to advance these historic
federal government initiatives.
In addition to bipartisan support for nuclear
power at the federal level, Virginia, Lightbridge’s home state, is
an example of broad support at the state level. Thus far in 2020,
four bills have become law, along with a resolution passed towards
the advancement of nuclear energy research and exploration of
economic opportunities. Recently, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam
directed the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority (VNECA)
to work with industry stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan
for ensuring that carbon-free nuclear power continues its
contribution to economic development and reducing greenhouse gases.
As a member of the board of directors of the VNECA, which has
helped support this legislation, I think Virginia recognizes the
large and growing federal support for nuclear power, particularly
for advanced technologies, and wants to help position companies and
universities within the state to receive that federal support.
These bills are part of a trend that includes other states and
countries recognizing nuclear as part of clean energy.
NUCLEAR AS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF
FUTURE ENERGY GENERATION
We believe there will need to be significant
growth in nuclear power if the world is to meet energy, climate,
and security needs. We have designed Lightbridge Fuel™ to play a
major role in meeting these goals. Much of the private investment
into advanced nuclear technology companies is leveraged with DOE
funding support. While bringing change to the nuclear power
industry is difficult, we remain confident in our ability to
succeed.
The nuclear power industry is at an inflection
point. Additional large reactors will close, and some new large
reactors will be built, predominantly by foreign state-owned
companies. Lightbridge Fuel™ can support existing and new large
reactors compete against natural gas and renewables. Furthermore,
the deployment of new smaller safer reactors, which Lightbridge
Fuel™ can further optimize, opens the door for the next generation
of reliable nuclear power.
ANNUAL MEETING AND EMPLOYEE STOCK
PURCHASE PLAN
We are postponing our annual meeting until later
this year, due to issues related to the printing of our proxy
materials as a result of the pandemic. However, we will file a Form
10-K/A in the coming days that will include information that we’ve
traditionally included in the proxy statement ahead of our annual
shareholders meeting. This will include our management compensation
and disclosures for 2019, along with our newly instituted Employee
Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), which facilitates executive and
employee ownership of Lightbridge stock by permitting all
Lightbridge employees to purchase shares on the open market through
after-tax payroll deductions. The Board expects all our named
executive officers to participate in the ESPP. We believe that
providing this information in a timely manner is in the best
interests of our shareholders.
ARBITRATION WITH FRAMATOME
We have commenced arbitration proceedings. We
are confident of our position and will provide updates in the
future.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
We have taken measures – both internally and
directly within the investment community – that we believe will
help generate greater awareness of the Lightbridge story among the
investment community, with the goal of delivering long-term
sustainable value to our shareholders. We’ve recently completed a
redesign of our corporate website, as well as a new investor
presentation. I invite everyone to visit www.Ltbridge.com and
welcome your feedback on both.
I want to thank our shareholders and also our
employees, partners, and vendors, for your continued support. We
will keep you apprised of our progress and key developments. I hope
you stay safe and healthy.
Very truly yours,
Seth GraePresident & CEO
About Lightbridge Corporation
Lightbridge (NASDAQ: LTBR) is an advanced
nuclear fuel technology development company based in Reston,
Virginia, United States. The Company is developing Lightbridge
Fuel™, a proprietary next-generation nuclear fuel technology for
current and future reactors, which significantly enhances the
economics, safety, and proliferation resistance of nuclear power.
Lightbridge invented, patented, and has independently validated its
technology, with goals of preventing climate change and enhancing
national security. The Company has assembled a world-class
development team. Four large electric utilities that generate about
half of America’s nuclear power advise Lightbridge on fuel
development and deployment. The Company plans to operate under a
licensing and royalty model, and based on the increased power
generated by Lightbridge-designed fuel expects to offer high ROI
for operators of existing and new reactors. For more
information please visit: www.ltbridge.com.
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Forward Looking Statements
With the exception of historical matters, the
matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the timing and
outcome of research and development activities, other steps to
commercialize Lightbridge Fuel™ and future governmental support and
funding for nuclear energy. These statements are based on current
expectations on the date of this news release and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
significantly from such estimates. The risks include, but are not
limited to: the Company’s ability to commercialize its nuclear fuel
technology; the degree of market adoption of the Company's product
and service offerings; market competition; dependence on strategic
partners; demand for fuel for nuclear reactors; the Company's
ability to manage its business effectively in a rapidly evolving
market; changes in the political environment; risks associated with
the further spread of COVID-19, including the ultimate impact of
COVID-19 on people, economies, and the Company’s ability to access
capital markets; the outcome of the arbitration with the Company’s
former joint venture partner and dissolution of the Enfission joint
venture; as well as other factors described in Lightbridge's
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lightbridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise any
such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new
developments or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are
cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
A further description of risks and uncertainties
can be found in Lightbridge’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and in its subsequent reports
on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned “Risk
Factors” and “Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May
Affect Future Results”, as well as in its subsequent reports on
Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and available at http://www.sec.gov/ and
www.ltbridge.com.
Investor Relations
Contact:Porter, LeVay & Rose, Inc.Matthew AbenanteTel:
212-564-4700 ir@ltbridge.com
1 The Battelle Energy Alliance is a
collaboration between Battelle, BWX Technologies, Washington Group
International, Electric Power Research Institute and an alliance of
leading universities. Battelle is the largest private non-profit
research and development organization in the world.
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