Nuclea Energy to acquire Moltex Energy technology portfolio

Ontario-headquartered Nuclea is designing the Morpheus microreactor, a compact, transportable and factory-fabricated lead-cooled, graphite-moderated microreactor which is currently in the conceptual design stage. The Moltex asset acquisition would extend Nuclea's technology portfolio into advanced modular and potentially grid-scale nuclear generation, as well as spent-fuel recycling, Nuclea said.

Moltex's technologies include the WATSS (for Waste to Stable Salt) recycling process; the Stable Salt Reactor - Wasteburner (SSR-W), a molten salt fast reactor technology using recycled nuclear waste as fuel; and FLEX, a thermal spectrum version of the SSR technology. The target portfolio - developed over more than a decade, with over CAD96 million (USD69 million) of private, Canadian and US public-sector funding - is expected to include technology and development materials associated principally with WATSS and SSR-W, with 80 granted patents across nine patent families in advanced nuclear technology (including nuclear fuel, reactor, chemistry and materials) plus nine pending patents on the fuel recycling process.

In June, Moltex Energy Canada announced that key stages of the WATSS process had been successfully validated using irradiated fuel from a commercial CANDU reactor at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' Chalk River facilities.

Moltex Energy Limited - the UK-based parent company of MoltexFlex Limited and Moltex Energy Canada Inc - entered administration in March 2025. The transaction is structured principally as an acquisition of assets, according to Nuclea. Nuclea's Nuclea Energy Canada subsidiary will satisfy the purchase price - which has not yet been disclosed - entirely in cash.

The proposed Moltex asset acquisition would extend Nuclea's technology portfolio into advanced modular and potentially grid-scale nuclear generation, as well as used fuel recycling, the company said.

"We believe the nuclear sector is entering a sustained period of strategic investment driven by the increasing competition in nuclear developments between east and west, energy security, grid reliability, industrial electrification and growing demand for large volumes of dependable, low-carbon power driven by the new digital age," said Josef Freundorfer, Nuclea's CEO. "This agreement is designed to broaden Nuclea's position within the nuclear sector by adding a pair of advanced reactor designs and nuclear fuel-cycle technology that are complementary to our Morpheus microreactor. Importantly, this is an asset-led transaction at what we believe is a disciplined entry point, with future capital deployment governed by clearly defined technical, regulatory and commercial milestones."

Moltex CEO Rory O'Sullivan said the company had been "delighted" by the level of interest generated through the competitive process. "This is a very exciting outcome for Moltex and an important recognition of the value created by our team, shareholders, partners and supporters over more than a decade," he said, adding: "Nuclea provides a strong platform from which to build on what we have achieved and take these technologies into their next phase."

Completion remains subject to certain closing conditions, including the required approval under the UK's National Security and Investment Act 2021. Following completion, Nuclea intends to retain Moltex Energy Canada as a focused research, engineering and regulatory-development business supporting the continued advancement of the acquired technologies.

Business combination

Nuclea recently entered into a definitive business combination agreement - subject to customary closing conditions, including stockholder and regulatory approvals - with Mangoceuticals, Inc, a transaction it says will provide Nuclea with a path to public listing. This, it says, will broaden its access to the capital markets to fund the continued development, licensing, and commercialisation of its Morpheus technology.

The company has also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of Utah Office of Energy Development to explore the siting of a nuclear test reactor at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab to advance the deployment of the Morpheus reactor. And earlier this month, it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Miami-headquartered provider of high-density digital infrastructure and computing hosting services New Mining Co, to evaluate the technical and structural feasibility of deploying Nuclea's modular reactor technology to serve New Mining's behind-the-meter power needs.