Friday, June 3, 2011

Startup Kurion Deploys Technology At Fukushima

An Irvine-based startup, backed by Lux Capital and Firelake Capital Management, said this week that it is deploying its technology to the embattled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, to help support water cleanup at the plant's nuclear reactor. According to Kurion, it has completed initial delivery of "several hundred tons of equipment" to remove radioactivity from contaminated water at the plant. Kurion, which is based on technology developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, moved to Irvine in December, and is headed by John Raymont. The firm said its systems are expected to be installed, commissioned, and started by mid-June, and is part of an international effort to manage radioactive waste at the nuclear plant. Kurion said it is the sole American company involved in the effort. Kurion was working on nuclear waste cleanup pre-Fukushima; the firm was founded in 2008 to commercialize technology used to cleanup liquids from Three Mile Island.