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 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. Because of project staffing issues at INL related to the laboratory’s COVID-19 restrictions and U.S. export control matters, the Company completed a contract extension for this INL GAIN voucher in January 2021. The period of performance was extended to September 30, 2021. All work was completed on this GAIN voucher in the third quarter of 2021. INL is currently in the process of documentation of the final close-out of this project. The total project amount recorded as grant income was approximately $0.5 million. The Company recorded approximately $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, of work that was completed by INL that caused the DOE to incur payment obligations related to the GAIN voucher. This amount was recorded as grant income in Other Operating Income section of the condensed consolidated statement of operations and the corresponding amount recorded as research and development expenses.

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™. On July 14, 2021, the Company executed a CRADA with the Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division, the operating contractor of the PNNL, in collaboration with the DOE. The total project value is approximately $663,000, with three-quarters of this amount expected to be funded by DOE for the scope performed by PNNL and the remaining amount funded by Lightbridge, by providing in-kind services to the project.

The project commenced in the third quarter of 2021 and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2022. For the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company recorded approximately $21,000 of work that was completed by PNNL that caused the DOE to incur payment obligations related to the GAIN voucher. 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.