Alpha Nur
Alpha Nur is a pre-revenue U.S. nuclear fuel recycling company developing Full-Circle Fission™ — a decladding and electrorefining process that converts legacy highly enriched uranium into HALEU feedstock for advanced reactors, serving the DOE and advanced reactor developers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersDowners Grove, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM type—
- Offering—
What Alpha Nur does
Alpha Nur, Inc. is a U.S.-based nuclear fuel recycling technology company founded in 2021 and headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, with a corporate office in Chicago. The company is developing "Full-Circle Fission™," a process that uses low-temperature chlorination decladding and electrochemical electrorefining to recover highly enriched uranium (HEU) from U.S. research reactor fuel and transform it into High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock for advanced reactors. Alpha Nur reports that its process can strip over 99% of cladding material and recover up to 95% of fuel material, yielding up to a 95% reduction in high-level nuclear waste. The company addresses two linked problems: the U.S. government's roughly $100M-per-year liability for storing hundreds of tonnes of legacy HEU, and a critical domestic HALEU supply shortage exacerbated by historical near-total dependence on Russian enrichment.
Alpha Nur operates a pre-revenue, R&D-stage business model funded by federal contracts, accelerator prizes, and small equity rounds. Its largest committed award is a $19 million selection under the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's CURIE used-fuel recycling program (February 2026), with prior DOE and University of Chicago grants and prizes totaling roughly $120,500. The company holds an active Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Idaho National Laboratory and is a member of the DOE Defense Production Act Nuclear Fuel Cycle Consortium, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the American Nuclear Society. Its customer segments are the U.S. Department of Energy (legacy HEU management) and advanced nuclear reactor developers (future HALEU off-takers). Leadership comprises Founder/CEO Kevin O'Sullivan (UChicago S.B. '22, Technical Representative on two INL CRADAs) and Director of Regulatory Affairs/Board member Kathryn M. Sutton (former head of Morgan Lewis's Energy Practice, 30+ years nuclear regulatory law).
Alpha Nur firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Alpha Nur
- Legal name
- Alpha Nur, Inc.
- Website
- https://alphanur.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Alpha Nur is a pre-revenue U.S. nuclear fuel recycling company developing Full-Circle Fission™ — a decladding and electrorefining process that converts legacy highly enriched uranium into HALEU feedstock for advanced reactors, serving the DOE and advanced reactor developers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Alpha Nur industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nuclear Fuel Recycling Services
- NAICS
- Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)
- SIC
- Hazardous Waste Management (4955)
- akta.pro primary industry
- HALEU Production & Supply Chain (Feedstock, Enrichment, Downblending) (EUAKACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Fuel Cycle Support Services (Engineering, licensing support, conversion/enrichment contracting) (EUAKACAL)
Keywords
Where Alpha Nur is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Downers Grove
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Alpha Nur product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Alpha Nur operates Full-Circle Fission™, a nuclear fuel recycling technology that uses low-temperature chlorination decladding and electrochemical electrorefining processes to recover legacy highly enriched uranium (HEU) from used research reactor fuel and transform it into High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock for next-generation nuclear reactors. The process achieves up to 95% resource utilization and reduces high-level nuclear waste by up to 90%, addressing the critical domestic HALEU supply shortage and converting costly legacy waste into a strategic fuel resource.
Product overview
Alpha Nur offers Full-Circle Fission™ as its core technology—a nuclear fuel recycling process that uses decladding and electrorefining to transform legacy highly enriched uranium into HALEU feedstock for advanced reactors, achieving up to 95% waste reduction. The company also provides Neutron Slingshot, an educational game that demonstrates nuclear fission concepts through interactive gameplay.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Full-Circle Fission™
- Neutron Slingshot
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 95% resource utilization from used nuclear fuel
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Alpha Nur
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Alpha Nur technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Alpha Nur partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Idaho National LaboratorycoreActive CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) with Idaho National Laboratory covering controlled technical data exchange, economic analysis, and R&D roadmapping for nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure. Kevin O'Sullivan serves as Technical Representative on two active CRADAs.
- Nuclear Energy InstituteminorMember of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's policy organization representing commercial nuclear technology
- American Nuclear SocietyminorMember of the American Nuclear Society, a professional organization for nuclear scientists and engineers
- DOE Defense Production Act ConsortiumcoreMember of the DOE Defense Production Act Nuclear Fuel Cycle Consortium, participating in Nuclear Fuel Recycling and Fuel Fabrication Subcommittees
- University of Chicago Polsky CenterminorReceived funding and participated in nationally ranked accelerator programs including College New Venture Challenge, Resurgence Cleantech Accelerator, Summer BUILD, and I-Corps
- U.S. Department of EnergycorePrimary government partner providing $19M award for used nuclear fuel recycling R&D under the CURIE program. Also supported through Cradle to Commerce program and other DOE initiatives.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Alpha Nur competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Curio: Curio is a nuclear recycling startup developing processes to recover actinides and rare isotopes from spent nuclear fuel. Like Alpha Nur, it operates in the nuclear fuel recycling space targeting advanced reactor fuel and waste reduction, with similar DOE-backed early-stage positioning.
- Centrus Energy: Centrus is the leading U.S. supplier of HALEU through its centrifuge enrichment technology and was awarded DOE contracts to scale domestic HALEU production. It competes directly with Alpha Nur's output of HALEU feedstock for advanced reactors, although via enrichment rather than recycling.
- Lightbridge Corporation: Lightbridge develops advanced metallic nuclear fuels (including HALEU-based variants) for existing and next-generation reactors. As a downstream consumer of HALEU feedstock, it shares Alpha Nur's customer base and is a near-direct partner candidate for advanced fuel supply.
Emerging players
- SHINE Technologies: SHINE develops fusion-adjacent and advanced nuclear technologies, including isotope production and fusion driver systems. It overlaps with Alpha Nur on advanced nuclear fuel/technology development and DOE-backed nuclear innovation pathways.
Broad incumbents
- Urenco USA: Urenco is one of the world's largest uranium enrichment operators with significant U.S. capacity in New Mexico. As a dominant incumbent in the SWU/enrichment market relevant to HALEU production, it represents a scaled competitor and partner potential for Alpha Nur's downstream HALEU output.
- BWX Technologies (BWXT): BWXT manufactures nuclear fuel components, provides specialty nuclear materials services, and operates DOE/NNSA facilities. It is a broad incumbent whose nuclear fuel cycle and materials handling capabilities overlap with Alpha Nur's mission of converting legacy nuclear material into usable fuel.
- Westinghouse Electric Company: Westinghouse is a major global nuclear fuel supplier (including TRISO and LWR fuel) and advanced reactor developer (eVinci microreactor). It is a broad incumbent in nuclear fuel and reactor technology that complements and competes for downstream HALEU fuel conversion work.
- TerraPower: TerraPower is developing the Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor, which requires HALEU fuel. It is one of the largest potential offtake customers for Alpha Nur's HALEU output and shares a federal policy alignment under Executive Orders supporting advanced nuclear deployment.
- X-energy: X-energy is developing the Xe-100 high-temperature gas reactor using TRISO/HALEU fuel. It is a leading advanced reactor developer and a potential downstream customer and partner for HALEU feedstock supply, sharing nuclear fuel cycle strategic interests with Alpha Nur.
- Oklo: Oklo is developing compact fast reactors and has been involved in fuel cycle infrastructure including DOE-supported efforts around HALEU supply. It is a downstream advanced-reactor developer that overlaps with Alpha Nur on the strategic HALEU supply chain.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Alpha Nur social profiles
Digital presenceAlpha Nur financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Alpha Nur leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Alpha Nur funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Alpha Nur M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Alpha Nur
What does Alpha Nur do?
Alpha Nur operates Full-Circle Fission™, a nuclear fuel recycling technology that uses low-temperature chlorination decladding and electrochemical electrorefining processes to recover legacy highly enriched uranium (HEU) from used research reactor fuel and transform it into High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock for next-generation nuclear reactors. The process achieves up to 95% resource utilization and reduces high-level nuclear waste by up to 90%, addressing the critical domestic HALEU supply shortage and converting costly legacy waste into a strategic fuel resource.
Is Alpha Nur a public or private company?
Alpha Nur is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Alpha Nur founded?
Alpha Nur was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Alpha Nur based?
Alpha Nur is headquartered in Downers Grove, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Alpha Nur's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Curio, Centrus Energy and Lightbridge Corporation. SHINE Technologies is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Urenco USA, BWX Technologies (BWXT), Westinghouse Electric Company, TerraPower, X-energy and Oklo.
Does Alpha Nur have an API?
No public API is recorded for Alpha Nur.
What industry is Alpha Nur in?
Alpha Nur's product category is Nuclear Fuel Recycling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAKACAH, HALEU Production & Supply Chain (Feedstock, Enrichment, Downblending), with a secondary code of EUAKACAL, Fuel Cycle Support Services (Engineering, licensing support, conversion/enrichment contracting). Its NAICS code is 562211 and its SIC code is 4955.