SHINE Tapped for EPRI-Led Consortium Building U.S. Nuclear Fuel Recycling Capability

SHINE takes on the safeguards, licensing, and isotope market questions behind MARIE — the tool the U.S. nuclear industry could use to evaluate the first commercial recycling facilities.

JANESVILLE, Wis. — June 17, 2026 —SHINE, a fusion energy company with a platform expanding into nuclear fuel recycling, has joined the EPRI-led consortium funded under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) CURIE program to help build a Model for the Assessment of Reprocessing and Recycle with Innovative Execution (MARIE) — the optimization tool the U.S. nuclear industry could use to evaluate and underwrite the first commercial used fuel recycling facilities. SHINE was added through a recent plus-up to the original award. The contract is signed and work is underway.

Independent, non-profit energy R&D institute EPRI leads the consortium with a number of industry partners. SHINE’s role covers the security, regulatory, and commercial questions facing a U.S. nuclear recycling industry:

• Safeguards-by-design. Translating SHINE’s experience licensing Chrysalis, its medical isotope production facility, into design considerations for a future recycling facility.
• Licensing path. Mapping what drives licensing costs for a U.S. recycling facility, and how to manage them.
• Isotope market potential. Applying SHINE's experience as a commercial isotope producer to assess the markets for valuable isotopes recoverable from used fuel.

Two of the resulting reports will be published publicly by EPRI.

“Recycling effectively makes nuclear fuel a renewable resource, reshaping the next era of clean energy. The companies that figure out how to license and build the facilities will set the pace for U.S. recycling, and that’s the work we’re doing in this consortium,” said Greg Piefer, founder and CEO of SHINE.  

SHINE's work on MARIE sits inside a broader commercial push. The company is targeting a pilot facility capable of processing 100 metric tons of used nuclear fuel per year in the early 2030s, which is the kind of facility MARIE is designed to help underwrite. Roughly 90,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel sit in U.S. storage today, and SHINE's strategy is to turn that inventory into a strategic energy asset.

About ARPA-E and CURIE

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies across a wide range of technical areas that are too early for private-sector investment. Learn more about these efforts and ARPA E's commitment to ensuring the United States continues to lead the world in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.

ARPA-E’s Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy (CURIE) program will unleash American energy through the deployment of AR technologies by providing affordable, reliable, and secure domestic fuel stocks. Improvements in monitoring capabilities could allow for more precise controls of the various reprocessing stages while ensuring increased security of materials of concern.

About EPRI

Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. EPRI's trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, and affordable access to electricity across the globe. Together...shaping the future of energy.® Learn more at www.epri.com.

About SHINE

SHINE is a fusion energy company headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin. We are leading the transition to the fusion economy through a technology platform that supplies critical products to global markets, each one funding the next.

Today, we supply defense and research customers with neutron-based testing. Our medical radioisotopes diagnose heart disease and treat cancer, and the world's largest commercial-scale medical isotope facility is now under construction. We are developing the technology to recycle used nuclear fuel, targeting a commercial pilot to draw down the 90,000 metric tons that have accumulated in the United States. Our long-term purpose is to put fusion energy on the grid. Learn more at www.shinefusion.com.

Media Contact: press@shinefusion.com

Funding Acknowledgment: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) under Award Number DE-AR0001689. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

‍