SuperCritical Materials licenses technology for uranium seawater extraction

[Marlin]

SuperCritical Materials licenses technology for uranium seawater extraction

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-07-23/article-8239/supercritical-materials-licenses-technology-for-uranium-seawater-extraction/

[Core Content]

SuperCritical Materials has secured a Department of Energy license to commercialize a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory process for extracting uranium from seawater. The company plans to deploy these polymer-based adsorbents at an industrial scale to increase domestic fuel security. This technology utilizes acrylic fibers to capture uranium, potentially providing a vast, renewable supply of nuclear fuel beyond traditional terrestrial mining operations.

Last week, Austin, Texas–based nuclear fuel start-up SuperCritical Materials announced that it has secured a license from the Department of Energy for a patented uranium and critical materials adsorbent manufacturing process originally developed by a team led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

SuperCritical aims to use this license to extract uranium from seawater at an industrial scale in the United States and abroad.

The background: The world's oceans contain roughly 4.5 billion metric tons of uranium, which is more than 1,000 times the identified terrestrial reserves. That uranium is also constantly replenished, mainly via river flow. This massive, untapped supply of potential fuel presents an obvious opportunity for the commercial nuclear sector if that supply can be harvested economically.

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-07-23/article-8239/supercritical-materials-licenses-technology-for-uranium-seawater-extraction/