Nano Nuclear seeks to build front-end capabilities with Radnostix assets

Nano Nuclear is continuing its efforts to establish itself in multiple sectors of the nuclear energy industry. On October 1, the company, which is perhaps best known for its efforts to deploy high-temperature gas-cooled microreactors, announced that it had agreed to purchase assets related to Radnostix Inc.'s previously planned deconversion facility in Lea County, N.M.

Through its proposed deal with Radnostix (known until December 2025 as International Isotopes Inc.), Nano would gain ownership of a fuel cycle facility currently licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, along with intellectual property assets related to the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF₆) deconversion and fluorine extraction processes that Radnostix had intended to pursue at the facility. Despite acquiring an NRC license over a decade ago, Radnostix never began construction at the site.

The agreement to transfer Radnostix's assets to Nano has yet to be executed and is subject to NRC approval.

The Lea County plant: In 2012, while Radnostix was operating as International Isotopes, the company's Fluorine Products subsidiary received an NRC license to begin constructing the Fluorine Extraction Process and Depleted Uranium Deconversion Plant. At the plant, DUF₆ would undergo deconversion to produce fluoride products for commercial sale and uranium oxides for disposal.

However, in 2015, International Isotopes received an extension from the Lea County Board of Commissioners for the project, and attributed delays to a downturn in the nuclear industry. Although the construction start date was moved to December 31, 2016, work never began.

In October 2025, American Fuel Resources applied to the NRC for a material transfer license to acquire some of the assets of International Isotope's Lea County project through its Green Salt Products subsidiary. This effort also met with complications. In March 2026, American Fuel and International Isotopes-now operating as Radnostix-submitted a joint request to withdraw the application. A March 16 press release from the two companies explained that American Fuel was unable to make its March 31 payment toward the final purchase price.

The NRC approved the cancellation of the agreement, paving the way for Nano's recent application.

Acquisitions and agreements: If approved, Nano Nuclear's acquisition of assets from Radnostix would hardly be the first deal or transaction with other firms that the company has made in pursuit of its business model.

Perhaps most notable is Nano's December 2024 acquisition of intellectual property that was sold as part of Ultra Safe Nuclear's bankruptcy auction. With that purchase, Nano gained the rights to USNC's Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) system, which it later rebranded as the Kronos MMR-a stationary system intended to complement the company's portable Zeus microreactor. The sale also gave Nano the rights to USNC's Pylon reactor, which it renamed the Loki MMR.

Prior to its bankruptcy, USNC also was engaged in fuel fabrication; it opened the Pilot Fuel Manufacturing plant, a pilot-scale TRISO production facility, in 2022. However, while Nano acquired the rights to USNC's developer work, material related to its fuel fabrication efforts went to Standard Nuclear, which was formed in 2024.

Still, Nano has sought to secure access to fuel in support of its microreactor development efforts. In addition to establishing its own subsidiary to explore fuel fabrication, HALEU Energy Fuel Inc., it also has invested $2 million in Laser Isotope Separation Technologies Inc., a company that is pursuing laser technology to enrich uranium.

In a November 2024 announcement of its partnership with LIS Technologies, Nano stated that "as part of the agreement, Nano Nuclear will develop supportive capabilities, including deconversion and fuel fabrication facilities, that will enable LIST's enriched UF6 to become part of an integrated fuel manufacturing process that delivers fuel to both Nano Nuclear's microreactor systems in development and the wider nuclear energy industry."

Nano's pending deal with Radnostix, if authorized, would provide a significant contribution toward such a goal.