LIGHTBRIDGE Corp

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

There have been no other material changes to our risk factors from the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2024., except as set forth below.

Potential competitors could limit opportunities to license our technology.

Other companies may develop new nuclear fuel designs for use in the same types of reactors that we target. These nuclear fuel designs include, but are not limited to, the ATFs currently being developed and tested by several U.S. and international nuclear fuel suppliers (some with the support of the DOE). Such competitor ATF designs could undermine our nuclear fuels economic value proposition if they extend the operating cycle length beyond 18 months. Recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved an increase in the burnup limit for a different manufacturers ATFs design, which could eventually allow that design to achieve a cycle length beyond 18 months.

Some competitors have existing long-term commercial contracts with nuclear power utilities that we do not have. If another company were to successfully develop a new nuclear fuel that competes with our nuclear fuel design technology, opportunities to commercialize our technology might be more limited, and our business would suffer. Moreover, many of these other companies have substantially greater financial, technological, managerial and research and development resources and experience than we do. These larger companies may be better able to handle the corresponding long-term financial requirements to successfully develop new nuclear fuel and bring it to market.

Industry groups have proposed initiatives that seek to relax existing licensing constraints, which could potentially result in conventional uranium dioxide and/or ATFs designs achieving additional cycle length extensions and/or extended power uprates in operating light water reactors. Such initiatives, if approved by the NRC, could limit the competitive advantages and market opportunities for Lightbridge Fuel.

Development of our nuclear fuel technology is dependent upon the availability of a test reactor and access to adequate resources and manufacturing capabilities at national laboratories.

Our fuel designs are still in the research and development stage and further research, development, and demonstration will be required in test facilities. We had intended to conduct further testing of our fuel designs at the Halden research reactor located in Halden, Norway. However, the Halden research reactor, which became operational in 1958, was shut down in June 2018 and will not reopen. The Company has identified alternative options to generate the irradiation data we need to support regulatory licensing of our LTA operation in a commercial reactor, such as the ATR at INL, but pursuing such alternatives to the Halden research reactor may significantly delay further testing of our fuel designs. We may not be able to contractually secure another reactor in which to test our fuel designs. As a result, commercialization of our nuclear fuel technology may be significantly delayed, perhaps indefinitely, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our current RD plan includes the use of research reactors made available by the U.S. government and the DOE, including but not limited to the ATR at INL. These reactors are limited in terms of technical capabilities, operating cycles, and prior reservations for similar research and development services. While the ATR may have enough space for additional flow loops where fuel rods can be irradiated, the reactor currently has only one such loop available, limiting how much fuel rod material that can be inserted into the reactor as well as its duration in the reactor. If sufficient capacity within the ATR is not available on a timely basis, we may not be able to obtain sufficient data to justify regulatory approval for LTA demonstration in a large commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR) in a commercially feasible timeframe. This would likely necessitate additional loop irradiation testing in another test reactor or lead test rod demonstration in a large commercial PWR in addition to the ATR loop testing before LTA demonstration could commence.

Funding for any improvement of capabilities or continued operations of these reactors is subject to the priorities of the U.S. government, as well as the appropriation of funding by the U.S. Congress, and cannot be assured. Changes in these factors are outside of the Companys control and could cause significant delays and/or cost increases in our RD programs.

Furthermore, we currently rely on existing manufacturing equipment and capabilities at INL to demonstrate our co-extrusion fabrication process using depleted uranium and zirconium alloy and to eventually manufacture samples using enriched uranium and zirconium alloy for irradiation testing in a test reactor environment. The Company believes that due to resource and manufacturing equipment constraints, it may not be able to meet the Companys preferred project timeline, and that total project cost will likely exceed initial budgets.