MCLEAN, Va., May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR), a leading innovator of next generation nuclear fuel designs and provider of nuclear energy consulting services to commercial and governmental organizations, today announced that James P. Malone, Chief Nuclear Fuel Development Officer, is one of three authors of a new study that promotes consolidating spent nuclear fuel in self-funding, regional storage sites around the world.  The study "The Back-End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: An Innovative Concept" was published by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as part of its Global Nuclear Future (GNF) Initiative.

The 72-page study recognizes the growing global market for civil nuclear power and seeks to promote multilateral international consensus on sustainable, economic and secure storage solutions for spent fuel, perhaps as much as 10,000 metric tons on approximately one acre.  Centralized regional storage of spent fuel could eliminate the expense and risk of managing multiple smaller storage sites, as is the industry's current practice.  The back end of the nuclear fuel cycle is defined as on-site pool storage; either on-site or off-site dry storage; and long-term waste disposal.  The study says that spent fuel could be stored until such time as technology develops sufficiently to allow economic re-use of nuclear waste to capture its residual energy.

Mr. Malone's co-authors are Stephen M. Goldberg, Ph.D. and Robert Rosner, Ph.D.

Dr. Goldberg serves as Research Coordinator for the American Academy's GNF project and is Special Assistant to the Director at Argonne National Laboratory.  In this capacity, he has conducted several systems studies in the nuclear energy field, including the 2004 study on the economic competitiveness of nuclear energy, the 2007 Poland nuclear energy study, and the 2009 Jordan cogeneration study.  Previously, he served in the U.S. government for more than three decades.  While at the Office of Management and Budget, he earned the Executive Office of the President's highest award for efforts to complete several major international nuclear nonproliferation agreements.

Dr. Rosner is Senior Advisor to the GNF Initiative and the William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics at the University of Chicago, where he also serves as Founding Director of the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC).  He is former President of UChicago Argonne and former Director of Argonne National Laboratory.

The American Academy has posted video of a briefing on "The Back-End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: An Innovative Storage Concept" by Messrs. Rosner, Goldberg and Malone on its web site at: http://www.amacad.org/events/gnfnpc/.

About Lightbridge Corporation
Lightbridge is a US nuclear energy company based in McLean, Virginia with operations in Abu Dhabi, Moscow and London.  The Company develops proprietary, proliferation resistant, next generation nuclear fuel technologies for current and future nuclear reactor systems.  The Company also provides comprehensive advisory services for established and emerging nuclear programs based on a philosophy of transparency, non-proliferation, safety and operational excellence.  Lightbridge's breakthrough fuel technology is establishing new global standards for safe and clean nuclear power and leading the way to a sustainable energy future.  Lightbridge consultants provide integrated strategic advice and expertise across a range of disciplines including regulatory affairs, nuclear reactor procurement and deployment, reactor and fuel technology and international relations.  The Company leverages those broad and integrated capabilities by offering its services to commercial entities an d governments with a need to establish or expand nuclear industry capabilities and infrastructure.

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Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature, including statements regarding the Company's competitive position and product and service offerings.  These statements are based on current expectations on the date of this news release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from such estimates.  The risks include, but are not limited to, the degree of market adoption of the Company's product and service offerings; market competition; dependence on strategic partners; and the Company's ability to manage its business effectively in a rapidly evolving market.  Certain of these and other risks are set forth in more detail in Lightbridge's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Lightbridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise a ny such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

CONTACT:
Gary Sharpe
Investor Relations
Lightbridge Corporation
571-730-1213
gsharpe@ltbridge.com

About the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an international learned society with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Academy is composed of 4,000 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members representing the academic disciplines as well as the arts, business, and government. Through its multidisciplinary research projects, the Academy addresses major issues of both scholarly and public concern, including international affairs, economic and environmental issues, and the changing nature of higher education, science, and scholarship.

SOURCE Lightbridge Corporation