![[elysium-industries-logo.png|300]] Company website: https://elysium-industries.com/ ### Introduction Elysium Industries was founded in 2015 by Ed Pheil and Carl Perez, former engineers from the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, with the goal of advancing molten salt reactor technology. Headquartered in New York, New York, the company's mission was to develop safe, cost-effective, and carbon-conscious energy solutions through liquid-fueled molten salt reactors, aiming to address energy poverty, reduce nuclear waste, and provide clean baseload power. However, information on Elysium Industries is limited and outdated, as the company appears to have ceased operations around 2022-2023, with its website defunct and no recent public activity; efforts to confirm current status suggest it is permanently closed. The key focus areas included designing modular, fast-spectrum reactors using chloride salts to consume spent nuclear fuel and weapons waste, transforming hazardous materials into energy while minimizing proliferation risks and environmental impact. Elysium aimed for rapid commercialization by leveraging existing materials and components, targeting deployment in the 2020s, though progress stalled due to the company's apparent closure. ### Key Products and Technology Information on products is based on pre-closure developments, as no updates are available post-2022. - **Molten Chloride Salt Fast Reactor (MCSFR)**: A liquid-fueled fast-spectrum reactor using chloride salts; features include atmospheric pressure operation for safety, ability to burn spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and plutonium, passive decay heat removal, and modular design scalable from 10 MWt demo to gigawatt-scale; high fuel efficiency with closed fuel cycle, reducing waste half-life from millennia to centuries; applications in baseload electricity generation, waste transmutation for nuclear cleanup, and process heat for industries like desalination or hydrogen production. - **Fuel Upcycling System**: Integrated process to convert SNF into MCSFR fuel salt; features chemical separation without proliferation risks, scalability for on-site or centralized use; applications in closing the nuclear fuel cycle, reducing storage needs, and enabling fuel breeding from depleted uranium or thorium. - **Noble Gas Management System**: Advanced membranes using metal-organic frameworks for capturing fission gases; features high selectivity and efficiency in molten salt environments; applications in enhancing reactor safety and regulatory compliance by minimizing emissions. ### Team and Leadership Leadership information is outdated due to the company's closure; no current social media or updates available for most members. - **Ed Pheil, CTO and Co-founder**: Led technical development of MCSFR, with over 30 years in naval nuclear propulsion and reactor design; previously at Naval Nuclear Laboratory; focused on waste-burning innovations; X handle: [@EdPheil](https://x.com/EdPheil); LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-pheil-5b5b5b1/ (active in nuclear discussions post-Elysium, now associated with Exodys Energy). - **Carl Perez, Co-founder**: Contributed to reactor engineering and commercialization; background in nuclear systems from Naval Nuclear Laboratory. - **Guilherme Fagundes, Co-founder**: Involved in early business development. - **Seira Mori, Co-founder**: Supported operational aspects. ### Recent News and Developments (2025) No verifiable events specific to Elysium Industries were found in 2025, as the company appears defunct since 2022-2023. The table below includes the latest available pre-closure updates for context, but note the absence of recent activity. | Date | Event | Details | |------|--------|---------| | October 2022 | GAIN Voucher Award | Received U.S. Department of Energy voucher for noble gas management testing with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, supporting demo reactor and fuel upcycling. | | March 2022 | GAIN Voucher for Fuel Synthesis | Partnered with Idaho National Laboratory to synthesize MCSFR fuel from spent nuclear fuel, assessing scale-up feasibility. | | December 2021 | Testimony on FC-MSR | CTO Ed Pheil testified before Ohio legislature on Fast Chloride Molten Salt Reactor benefits for energy and waste management. | | November 2019 | MCSFR Presentation at ORNL | Co-founders presented at Molten Salt Reactor Workshop on reactor design and waste-burning capabilities. | ### Partnerships and Collaborations Partnerships are based on pre-closure activities; no ongoing collaborations confirmed. - **Idaho National Laboratory (INL)**: Collaborated on synthesizing MCSFR fuel from spent nuclear fuel via 2017-2022 DOE vouchers, focusing on conversion processes and scale-up. - **Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)**: Partnered in 2022 for noble gas capture using metal-organic frameworks in molten salt environments. - **U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) via GAIN**: Received multiple Nuclear Energy Vouchers for R&D on fuel cycles, waste processing, and reactor safety. - **Cleantech Open**: Investor and accelerator support for early-stage funding and development. ### Closing Note As a privately funded startup that raised approximately $200K and reached an early development stage before apparent closure around 2022-2023, Elysium Industries' future outlook is uncertain, with no ongoing operations or MCSFR commercialization evident, though co-founder Ed Pheil continues related work via Exodys Energy. *Report generated July 28, 2025*