en.Wedoany.com Reported - Quantum Leap Energy (QLE) has entered into a strategic framework agreement with an unnamed European advanced reactor developer to evaluate the long-term supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). QLE is a wholly owned subsidiary of ASP Isotopes (ASPI).
Under this non-binding memorandum of understanding, the European partner will supply uranium feedstock directly to QLE's planned conversion and enrichment facilities. QLE will utilize its proprietary aerodynamic separation process (ASP) and laser-based quantum enrichment (QE) technology to enrich the feedstock into HALEU with uranium-235 content exceeding 10%. The scope of the agreement also includes potential deconversion services. The agreement is valid until the end of 2030, with initial estimates indicating that commercial HALEU deliveries will commence in 2028 and gradually scale up through 2036 to align with the partner's reactor deployment roadmap.
QLE CEO Dr. Ryno Pretorius stated that securing a reliable HALEU supply is one of the key challenges facing the advanced nuclear industry, and this memorandum of understanding represents an important step for QLE in building enrichment capacity to serve both the US and global markets. QLE and ASPI currently do not have an active large-scale commercial HALEU production plant; it is a development-stage nuclear fuel company operating through a network of operational test facilities and planned commercial production hubs located in South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
QLE's two core enrichment technologies include ASP and QE. ASP technology is a gas-based enrichment system derived from South Africa's aerospace and nuclear programs. Gaseous material, such as uranium hexafluoride, is injected tangentially at high speed through precisely positioned surface openings into a stationary tube, forming a high-velocity double vortex rotating around the central axis of the tube at hundreds of meters per second. The resulting centrifugal force separates isotopes by mass in a radial pattern. The system has very few moving parts, significantly reducing maintenance costs and energy consumption, and offers a more compact footprint and lower cost compared to traditional mechanical centrifuges. QE technology is a highly advanced laser-based isotope separation method, where a tuned laser beam strips electrons from the target isotope to ionize it, which is then separated by a negatively charged collector plate, achieving high isotopic purity in fewer steps.
In South Africa, the core corporate development laboratory and initial production plant are located in Pretoria. ASPI has already built its first two commercial-scale ASP plants there, producing light isotopes for the semiconductor industry, and has completed commissioning of its first quantum enrichment laser facility for refining heavy elements. QLE has constructed its first HALEU test facility at the Pelindaba nuclear site operated by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) to demonstrate that the ASP and QE processes can be scaled for uranium enrichment for small modular reactors. This site is also the target location for QLE's main commercial HALEU plant, supported by a 10-year supply agreement signed with TerraPower.
In the United States, QLE is planning a hypergrid campus in Texas and has formed a joint venture with Fermi America to build an advanced nuclear fuel research and production facility near Amarillo, aimed at providing domestic HALEU and low-enriched uranium with enrichment levels up to 10% (LEU+), as well as uranium conversion and deconversion services. In the United Kingdom, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has approved early engagement between QLE and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) for a proposed facility at the former Berkeley nuclear power station site in Gloucestershire, which will be dedicated to manufacturing fuel for the nuclear fusion industry.
Although QLE has not yet completed a fuel production facility, the 2028 first fuel production target is supported by several strategies. QLE's technology is ultra-compact and modular, with enrichment "cascades" pre-assembled in standard reinforced 40-foot containers at the engineering center in Pretoria, enabling rapid deployment. Simultaneously, QLE leverages already-licensed nuclear sites through partnerships with state-owned nuclear entities to shorten regulatory licensing timelines. Initial deliveries in 2028 are expected to be small batch, kilogram-scale quantities intended for regulatory verification and testing by the European partner.
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