Robert H. Ihde

Bob Ihde, a nuclear fuel technology expert, has navigated every stage of the development and commercialization of new nuclear fuels. A nuclear engineer as well as an M.B.A., Mr. Ihde first brought his unique combination of skills to Lightbridge Corporation in 2008.

Mr. Ihde held various senior-level management positions within AREVA, the international energy conglomerate, including as president and CEO of Duke, Cogema, Stone & Webster from 2000 to 2005; he was responsible for overseeing plans to build and operate the 600,000-square-foot facility to fabricate mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in the United States. Mr. Ihde was also president and chief operating officer of AREVA’s Cogema Technologies from 1995 to 1999. He directed all aspects of the company’s operations and spearheaded the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility proposal, which met with success in 1999 when the Department of Energy awarded the contract to AREVA. From 1974 to 1994, Mr. Ihde held various executive positions with nuclear supplier Babcock & Wilcox, including president of B&W Fuel Company, which, as head of the Nuclear Fuel Services Business Unit, he established and ran. At B&W Fuel Company, Mr. Ihde managed $60 million annually in projects with U.S. utilities and the Department of Energy; he was also responsible for establishing license agreements with international partners, and he successfully implemented new fuel assembly designs. Throughout his career Mr. Ihde has worked closely with U.S. utility executives on numerous projects. He was the lead negotiator on major contracts with General Electric and Siemens and was the executive contact for the licensee activities in Japan with Nuclear Fuel Industries.

Mr. Ihde earned an M.B.A. from Kent State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Kansas State University, where he also completed coursework for a master’s degree in nuclear engineering.