Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel
Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel. 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Close Image Credits:Matt Champlin / Getty Images Climate Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel Tim De Chant 6:00 AM PDT · September 16, 2026 The U.
What happened
“It’s like a thousand times more than all identified hard rock mines combined,” Jeff Green, founder and CEO of the clean tech Fluxnium, told TechCrunch. Fluxnium's fibers can extract uranium directly from seawater, which has enough of the nuclear fuel to power thousands of generations. Tech companies have backed several nuclear startups as they search for new sources of electricity to power their AI data centers. “Our job is to drive cost out of the supply chain, keep working through all the stages of the process to make it as low cost as possible. ” Topics clean tech, Climate, Exclusive, nuclear power, uranium When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission.
S. has ambitious plans to triple the capacity of its nuclear power plants by 2050, but that goal might hit a roadblock if plant operators can’t buy fuel at reasonable prices. The startup has been working in stealth until now to develop the new technology. Fluxnium gave TechCrunch an exclusive look at its technology.
The wider picture
The startup recently closed a $7 million seed round led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Active Impact Investments and Constellation Energy, which operates the largest nuclear fleet in the U. Fluxnium is emerging as the nuclear industry in the U. He’s a repeat founder, having helped launch Stamps. com in 1996, desalination startup NanoH2O in 2005, and carbon removal startup 1PointFive in 2020. Fluxnium’s technology uses specially made polymer fibers that attract the uranium that’s dissolved in seawater.
He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor. In a lofty essay published on Saturday, Dario Amodei, the founder of Anthropic (the company behind Claude), argued that tech companies need to “slow” the pace at which they’re developing the newest and most sophisticated AI models. In depth: ‘If a nuclear company had a radioactive spill, you wouldn’t be letting it regulate itself’View image in fullscreenDario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive officer of Anthropic.
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What has been reported
Prices for yellowcake, a form of unrefined uranium, are up 75% in the last five years, according to the U. The ocean has over 4 billion metric tons of uranium in it, enough for 50,000 years or so. Fluxnium thinks it has solved the problem of how to extract uranium from seawater. Those concerns have been bubbling under the surface of the nuclear industry for decades. “Now with this new nuclear renaissance? ” he said. When the technology was demonstrated at a national lab, it could extract uranium at more than $200 per pound, which is more than twice the price of Western suppliers today.
But by increasing the surface area, Fluxnium has been able to draw more uranium out of the water, bringing costs down. Tim De Chant Senior Reporter, Climate Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch.
What happens next
De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing tim. dechant@techcrunch. com. BOOK NOW Most Popular The 9 buzziest startups from Y Combinator’s latest Demo Day, according to VCs Marina Temkin Dominic-Madori Davis Tesla says it will finally unveil the second-generation Roadster on October 1 Anthony Ha Revolut confirms customer data breach through fake government requests Jagmeet Singh OpenAI puts Pro subscriptions on hold due to Astra demand Sarah Perez Bending Spoons to buy collaboration tools maker Miro for $1.
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The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across techcrunch.com, theguardian.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.