New lithium isotope tech gets $7M to build US supply for fusion, advanced reactors

A New Mexico company has raised $7 million to scale a technology designed to produce enriched lithium-6 and lithium-7, two isotopes needed for next-generation nuclear energy systems. Molten Salt Solutions (MSS) said the oversubscribed seed round will help move its isotope-enrichment technology from laboratory validation to pilot-scale production. The company plans to use the funding to expand its technical and operations teams and fulfill active customer agreements. Lithium-6 is particularly important for fusion reactors because it can help produce the tritium needed to sustain fusion reactions. Lithium-7, meanwhile, is used in advanced fission concepts, including molten salt reactors. The US currently lacks commercial-scale production of either isotope, making domestic enrichment capacity an important part of the country’s effort to build a secure nuclear fuel supply chain. Enriched lithium powers reactors The financing was led by Dolby Family Ventures, with participation from Vanedge Capital Partners, Alumni Ventures, Gaingels, True Ventures and Future Ventures. MSS said its technology is designed for large-scale lithium enrichment and is intended to address a supply bottleneck that could become more important as fusion and advanced fission technologies move toward commercial deployment. “Fusion and small modular fission reactors are racing toward commercialization and are necessary to meet growing global power demands. Both depend on a secure domestic supply of enriched lithium. MSS meets this need,” said John Elling, CEO of Molten Salt Solutions. “This investment enables us to scale our technology and production capability to meet the demands of advanced reactors today and in the future.” The company describes its enrichment platform as 100 times more efficient than legacy enrichment approaches. That efficiency claim is central to its attempt to build production capacity without relying on existing isotope-enrichment infrastructure. The new funding will also support MSS as it expands beyond lithium. The company said it is developing a broader portfolio of enriched isotopes aimed at emerging technology markets. US rebuilds lithium isotope supply MSS’s funding comes as the US seeks to strengthen domestic supply chains for materials needed by advanced energy systems. Enriched lithium is a particularly specialized part of that chain because the two isotopes serve different functions in nuclear technologies. For fusion, lithium-6 has a role in the fuel cycle because reactions involving the isotope can generate tritium, which is itself a key fusion fuel. Future fusion plants therefore need a reliable source of lithium capable of supporting fuel production. Lithium-7 has a different role. It is used in advanced fission molten salt reactor designs, where molten lithium-containing salts can serve as part of the reactor system. MSS said the $7 million round follows a previous $3 million pre-seed raise and more than $5 million in grants, including funding through New Mexico’s Advanced Energy Award. The latest round brings the company’s disclosed funding from these sources to more than $15 million. The company was founded by entrepreneurs and isotope-enrichment specialists from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Its immediate goal is to establish pilot-scale production while continuing to develop partnerships across the fusion and advanced nuclear industries. The timing is significant because both fusion and advanced fission developers face a common challenge beyond reactor design: building the specialized supply chains needed to operate these systems at scale. For MSS, producing enriched lithium domestically could therefore become an enabling technology for reactors that are still moving from experimental systems toward commercial power generation. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.With over a decade-long career in journalism, Neetika Walter has worked with The Economic Times, ANI, and Hindustan Times, covering politics, business, technology, and the clean energy sector. Passionate about contemporary culture, books, poetry, and storytelling, she brings depth and insight to her writing. When she isn’t chasing stories, she’s likely lost in a book or enjoying the company of her dogs.