In this CNBC Asia interview, Seth Grae, Chairman and CEO of Lightbridge and International Council Chair at the American Nuclear Society, discusses a recent U.S. delegation to India aimed at expanding private investment and technological partnerships in the civil nuclear sector.
India has set a massive target to increase its nuclear capacity from 8 gigawatts to 100 gigawatts by 2047. Mr. Grae explains why this ambitious goal is achievable and how recent legislation, such as India's Shanti Act, is paving the way for foreign private companies to invest by addressing liability concerns. He highl...
What Seth Grae said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Seth Grae, Chairman and CEO of Lightbridge, said India's goal of increasing nuclear capacity from 8 GW to 100 GW by 2047 is achievable if divided among government programs, joint ventures, and private sector, noting the US and France built similar capacity in comparable periods. He cited the recently passed Shanti Act in India as addressing liability issues, with new regulations expected in coming months, and said US companies can bring high operational efficiency, with American reactors operating at over 92% capacity factor. Grae argued the US can compete with China and Russia by localizing and training local workforces. He described Lightbridge fuel as the only truly new nuclear fuel, with testing at Idaho National Laboratory on May 6 showing promising results. He said the fuel can work on both pressurized water and heavy water reactors in India, with announcements expected this year. He warned that AI-driven electricity demand is underestimated, citing a planned 10 GW data center complex in Utah.
Key takeaways
India's 100 GW nuclear target by 2047 is achievable if split among government, joint ventures, and private sector, as the US and France did similarly.
The Shanti Act in India addresses liability issues, with new rules from the Department of Atomic Energy expected in months to enable foreign private companies.
US reactors operate at over 92% capacity factor, which can help India reach 100 GW without building as many reactors.
Lightbridge fuel samples were removed from Idaho National Laboratory's Advanced Test Reactor on May 6, with promising results and more expected this year.
A planned data center complex in Utah will use 10 GW, 25% more than all of New York City's 8 GW, showing massive AI power demand.
The mission is the first of its kind since 2006. The 20-member delegation included senior US government officials and nuclear industry executives as both countries look to expand private investment and tech partnerships in India's civil nuclear sector. Among the companies that participated was Lightbridge, a US-based nuclear fuel company that develops advanced fuel technology that can be used on India's pressurized heavy water reactors.
I'm delighted to say that Seth Grae is with us now to talk about this in a bit more detail, Chairman and CEO of Lightbridge. He is also International Council Chair at the American Nuclear Society. Seth, welcome to the program. Can we do the reality check first because India wants to increase nuclear capacity from roughly 8 gigawatts now to 100 gigawatts by the year 2047. Is that genuinely achievable or is that another aspirational target that's going to run into financing, regulatory, and execution constraints?
It's definitely achievable if it's handled right and if it's divvied up among official government programs and private sector and government joint ventures and some purely private sector nuclear development. 100 gigawatts electric is exactly what the United States has today. Much of that was built out during a similar period in the 1980s. France has close to that and was built out during a similar time frame. So, it can be done.
US-India civil nuclear deal was signed more than two decades ago, Seth, but there's little to show for it, is there in terms of actual US reactor exports. Why should investors believe that this time is different?
Well, the Shanti Act was recently passed in India that addresses liability and other major issues that have held American companies out. There will be new regulations, new rules coming in the next few months under the Shanti Act from India's Department of Atomic Energy. And if those rules are conducive to allowing foreign companies to come in, foreign private companies to come in, then I think there will be a lot of partnering based on the discussions that we had in New Delhi and Mumbai last week. I think that if you go back to 2005, India had very little nuclear power. And since then, as you said, has only built up to 8 GW electric. There was not a huge need for foreign cooperation. Now India needs much more foreign cooperation to have the capacity to build out to 100 GW electric. And the Americans can bring not only a lot of very good reactor technology and fuel technology, but the best operations of the reactors. The Americans across the nation operate reactors at over a 92% capacity factor, meaning over 92% of the time the plants are operating at the equivalent of full power. It used to be the Americans 30 years ago operated the reactors about half that amount. So, to have that level of operational efficiency, I think there's a lot of cooperation that can happen, particularly between what Americans can bring more than any other country and India to achieve 100 GW without having to build out as many reactors.
Interesting. Let's bring in the geopolitics, which are unavoidable, aren't they, Seth, because China and Russia are, let's face it, the dominant exporters of nuclear technology. How does the US, and what confidence levels do you have that the US can compete against those countries?
Well, the US certainly can compete against those. The United States has more nuclear power than China and Russia combined today. And the United States has a vast capacity to increase manufacturing ability. But I think much more than Russia and China, American companies uniquely can localize in other countries and have done so in ways that almost form their own competitors in other countries. I think Russia and China, you know, very much are looking for supply chains from Russia and China or localizing in ways that are not really training Indian people and giving India capacity to compete with Russia or China in other countries. So, I think the Americans make much better long-term partners, not just for producing the energy, but for creating jobs and industries.
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