Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR) has been selected to serve on the Industry Advisory Board of a $6 million nuclear materials research project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program. The project was awarded to Pennsylvania State University under the DOE's University Nuclear Research Infrastructure Revitalization program.

The four-year project, titled "Big 10+ Network for the Study of Nuclear Materials at the Microscale," is led by Dr. Jon Schwantes at Penn State. Lightbridge joins X-Energy, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Kairos Power on the Advisory Board.

The project will create a multi-university consortium including Penn State, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin, the University of New Mexico, and Virginia Commonwealth University. The consortium will establish a Nuclear Materials Micro-Fabrication Facility to advance nuclear materials research using micro- and nano-scale characterization techniques.

The project centers on establishing a radiologically-dedicated dual-beam plasma Focused Ion Beam capable of creating microscopic samples from highly radioactive materials. According to the announcement, conducting research at the micro-scale reduces radioactivity in samples by up to 17 orders of magnitude, enabling studies in conventional laboratories without specialized radiological equipment.

As an advisory board member, Lightbridge will contribute to research direction and help align project capabilities with advanced nuclear industry needs. The company stated its specific interest concerns the irradiation behavior of novel cladding materials for co-extruded fuels, relevant to the development of its Lightbridge Fuel technology.

Boone Beausoleil, Director of Materials at Lightbridge, said the project provides "a valuable avenue to advance our understanding of the irradiation behavior of cladding materials for Lightbridge Fuel and to engage with the expert community on this research team."

The information is based on a company press release statement.