Patents Assigned to TerraPower Isotopes, LLC
  • Patent number: 12651677
    Abstract: Targetry coupled separation refers to enhancing the production of a predetermined radiation product through the selection of a target (including selection of the target material and the material's physical structure) and separation chemistry in order to optimize the recovery of the predetermined radiation product. This disclosure describes systems and methods for creating (through irradiation) and removing one or more desired radioisotopes from a target and further describes systems and methods that allow the same target to undergo multiple irradiations and separation operations without damage to the target. In contrast with the prior art that requires complete dissolution or destruction of a target before recovery of any irradiation products, the repeated reuse of the same physical target allowed by targetry coupled separation represents a significant increase in efficiency and decrease in cost over the prior art.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2025
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2026
    Assignee: TerraPower Isotopes, LLC
    Inventors: Ken Czerwinski, Joshua C. Walter, Christopher Dunckley
  • Patent number: 12540372
    Abstract: In one aspect, the technology relates to a method of producing Ac, the method including preparing a phosphate-modified titania material to produce an ion-exchange material, contacting a solution including 229Th with the ion-exchange material to produce a Th-loaded titania material, eluting the Th-loaded titania material with a wash solution to produce an eluted solution containing eluted compounds including 225Ac, concentrating the eluted solution to generate eluted compounds including the 225Ac, and separating the 225Ac from the eluted compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2026
    Assignee: TerraPower Isotopes, LLC
    Inventors: Ken Czerwinski, Sayandev Chatterjee, Zuolei Liao, Pyoungchung Kim, Vladislav P. Vlasenko, Russell C. Ludwig, Christopher P. Dunckley
  • Patent number: 12424343
    Abstract: This disclosure describes methods for manufacturing a radioisotope of actinium from an irradiated source material that includes thorium. The method includes storing the source material in a vessel to allow at least some of the source material to decay into actinium. The containment vessel is then injected with supercritical carbon dioxide and a ligand to form a metal complex of actinium. The actinium complex is then removed from the vessel without substantially removing any of the thorium from the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2024
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2025
    Assignee: TerraPower Isotopes, LLC
    Inventors: Ken Czerwinski, Joshua C. Walter, Christopher Dunckley