Quantum Leap Energy (QLE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ: ASPI), has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a European nuclear technology company specializing in advanced reactor development. The goal is to supply high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) with a uranium-235 content greater than 10% to the partner, with potential deliveries beginning in 2028 and scaling up through 2036.
What the MOU covers
The MOU establishes a framework for a technical and economic assessment to determine the viability of a long-term collaboration. Under the proposed arrangement, the European partner would provide uranium feedstocks to QLE's planned conversion and enrichment facilities. QLE would then enrich those feedstocks to produce HALEU, including potential deconversion, and deliver the finished fuel to the partner.
The term of the MOU runs through December 31, 2030, and can be terminated early by either party. The scope includes assessing operational requirements, production scalability for conversion and enrichment, and associated costs and commercial models. The MOU also includes non-binding estimates of HALEU quantities, with deliveries potentially starting in 2028 and increasing through 2036, based on the partner's reactor development timeline and anticipated fuel requirements.
Why HALEU supply matters
Securing reliable HALEU supply is a critical bottleneck for the advanced nuclear industry. Next-generation reactor designs — including small modular reactors (SMRs) and some fusion concepts — require fuel enriched to levels between 5% and 20% uranium-235, well above the 3-5% used in conventional light-water reactors. Currently, most HALEU production capacity is concentrated in Russia, creating supply-chain vulnerabilities for Western reactor developers.
The MOU comes amid growing global urgency to establish diverse and reliable HALEU production capabilities. With increasing demand from next-generation reactor developers worldwide and evolving geopolitical dynamics affecting nuclear fuel supply chains, domestic U.S. enrichment capacity capable of serving both domestic and international customers is expected to be critical for the advancement of advanced nuclear energy systems.
QLE's technology and partnerships
QLE holds exclusive global rights to two proprietary enrichment technologies: the Aerodynamic Separation Process (ASP) and laser-based Quantum Enrichment (QE) technology. The company focuses on front-end nuclear fuel cycle activities, including uranium conversion, enrichment of uranium-235 for nuclear fuel production (HALEU, LEU+, and LEU), and isotopic separation of lithium-6 and lithium-7. It also works on back-end radioactive waste treatment technologies.
QLE has established strategic partnerships or commercial initiatives with industry leaders including TerraPower, Fermi America, and the South Africa Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa). The company operates isotope enrichment facilities in Pretoria, South Africa, focused on the enrichment of low atomic mass elements.
Bottom line
The MOU is a non-binding framework, not a firm contract. The key milestones to watch are the completion of the technical and economic assessment, regulatory approvals for uranium enrichment in South Africa or the United Kingdom, and the actual construction of QLE's planned conversion and enrichment facilities. If executed, the deal could help alleviate a significant supply-chain bottleneck for European advanced reactor developers.