US-based fuel technology company Lightbridge Corporation announced that it had received a Notification of Patent Grant from the Korean Intellectual Property Office for a divisional patent application relating to a co-extrusion method of manufacturing Lightbridge four-lobe helically twisted metallic fuel rods, based on its 2011 Patent Cooperation Treaty patent application.

Lightbridge President and CEO Seth Grae said the patent “further enhances our growing intellectual property portfolio”. He noted that there are 24 reactors in South Korea that provide one-third of the county's electricity, “making this an attractive potential market for our fuel”. Over the past year, Lightbridge has secured patents in Eurasia, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and the European Union.

"We are in what has become a global race to develop  next generation nuclear technologies,” he added. “In recognising competition primarily with China and Russia, the United States has recently begun taking bold measures towards funding, supporting, and fast-tracking development and licensure of these technologies, Grae said.