Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Research and Development Costs

v3.21.2
Research and Development Costs
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2021
Research and Development Costs  
Note 5. Research and Development Costs

Note 5. Research and Development Costs

 

On December 19, 2019, the Company was awarded a voucher from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program to support development of Lightbridge Fuel™ in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The scope of the project included experiment design for irradiation of Lightbridge metallic fuel material samples in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at INL. On April 22, 2020, the Company entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, the operating contractor of INL, in collaboration with DOE. Signing the CRADA was the last step in the contracting process to formalize a voucher award from the GAIN program. The project commenced in the second quarter of 2020. The initial total project value was estimated at approximately $846,000, with three-quarters of this amount expected to be funded by DOE for the scope performed by INL and the remaining amount funded by Lightbridge, by providing in-kind services to the project.

 

For the three months and six months ended June 30, 2021, the Company recorded approximately $0.1 million and $0.2 million of work that was completed by INL that caused the DOE to incur payment obligations related to the GAIN voucher, respectively. This amount was recorded as grant income in Other Operating Income section of the condensed consolidated statement of operations and the corresponding amount as research and development expenses. The cumulative amount from September 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, of $0.2 million was recorded as grant income. As of June 30, 2021, there is approximately $0.4 million in grant income that will be recognized in future periods upon completion of certain grant milestones. The Company completed a contract extension for the INL GAIN voucher in January 2021. The period of performance now runs through September 30, 2021. The Company currently expects that INL GAIN project will be completed within this period of performance, with a significantly reduced total project cost.

 

On March 25, 2021, the Company was awarded a second voucher from the DOE's GAIN program to support development of Lightbridge Fuel™ in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The scope of the project is to demonstrate Lightbridge's nuclear fuel casting process using depleted uranium, a key step in the manufacture of Lightbridge Fuel™. The project commenced in July 2021. The total project value is approximately $663,000, with three-quarters of this amount funded by DOE for the scope performed by PNNL. On July 8, 2021, the Company entered into a CRADA with the Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division, the operating contractor of the PNNL, in collaboration with the DOE, as also described in Note 7. Subsequent Events below.