Aternium (Wilmington, Del.), a producer and developer of heavy water and clean hydrogen, announced it has selected Kiewit Engineering Group Inc. (Lenexa, Kan.) to perform the pre-FEED for its initial heavy water/hydrogen production facility, the first of a multi-plant project.
Aternium’s multi‑plant initiative encompasses approximately $1 billion in safe, high‑efficiency heavy water/hydrogen infrastructure, launching in the Mid‑Atlantic region. “We are pleased to partner with Kiewit, whose deep expertise in energy development and unwavering commitment to safety and operational excellence closely align with our values,” said Andrew Cottone, Founder and CEO of Aternium. “This project will deliver high‑purity, clean hydrogen to the Mid‑Atlantic while addressing a critical materials challenge for the United States by producing heavy water (a/k/a deuterium), which is critical to many U.S. industries but currently is only produced outside the U.S. in countries like China and Iran. At the same time, this project will catalyze workforce development and generate transformative economic opportunities for local communities. Kiewit joins a strong group of development partners and will play a key role in executing our differentiated business model, enabling us to supply clean hydrogen and heavy water at a highly competitive st.”
“We’re pleased to have been selected by Aternium to help deliver this important new project,” said Tyler Nordquist, executive vice president, Kiewit Engineering Group Inc. “Our extensive engineering, procurement and construction experience in the energy market will provide significant value and operational expertise during this important pre-FEED phase. We’re excited to get started.”
Aternium’s model combines clean hydrogen production with heavy water/deuterium isolation. Deuterium is an essential fuel for nuclear fusion and a vital component in semiconductor fabrication, microchips, fiber-optic cables, OLED displays, and pharmaceuticals. The parallel production of clean hydrogen with Aternium’s patent-pending isolation of heavy water not only allows for a lower cost of hydrogen, but simultaneously addresses a critical materials vulnerability for the USA.