Nasdaq- and JSE-listed ASP Isotopes (ASPI) has shipped the first samples of ytterbium-176 and silicon-28 to customers – a step the company describes as a major milestone that should allow it to fulfil indicated customer demand representing $50-million to $70-million of potential revenues during 2026 and 2027.

The company, led by chairperson and CEO Paul Mann, explains that the samples, shipped during August, are in line with the guidance it provided in July, adding that it also expects to ship the first samples of carbon-12 to a customer this month.

The company also notes that it has started the procurement process for long lead time equipment to deliver four new laser production plants, which it plans to build, starting in the first quarter of 2026.

The plants will be used to enrich gadolinium-160, zinc-68, nickel-64 and lithium-6/7, isotopes that customers have shown significant interest in.

“After four years of hard work, the company is now transitioning from primarily a research and development company to a commercial organisation and the goal of the company during the next five years is to accelerate the industrialisation of the processes that we have created and maximize production volumes and revenues,” ASPI notes in a statement to shareholders.

Working with partners such as the State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), TerraPower and Fermi America, ASPI says it is well positioned to be a major beneficiary of tomorrow's megatrends across energy, medicine and next-generation industrial processes.

ASPI has three isotope enrichment facilities in operation.

“Researching, constructing and commissioning three plants in three years is a noteworthy achievement and we are very proud of our progress”.

ASPI notes that the last four years have been focused on research and development of new processes that will scale into a large commercial organisation.

The company says these first enrichment facilities will act as a blueprint in the future where it will implement process efficiencies learnt during the construction of these “first-of-a-kind” facilities to further improve timelines and capital expenditure.

RENERGEN MERGER

Additionally, ASPI says it has now received all but one of the regulatory approvals it needs to close the buyout of Renergen, noting that it still expects the transaction to close during the third quarter of this year.

The company says with the combination of these two highly complementary businesses the aim is to create a global leader in the production of critical and strategically important materials, including electronic gases such as helium, various fluorinated products and isotopically-enriched gases.

The combination is expected to create a vertically and horizontally integrated supply chain with significant geographic and customer overlap with substantial synergies expected from 2026.

The company explains that, this year, the world helium markets saw upward pressure on pricing, with some minor supply chain disruptions and increased demand in the electronics sector.

“We are seeing a new geopolitical trend with nations pushing to establish dominance and independence with respect to semiconductor manufacturing,” it notes.

This is particularly true for the US, China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

Initiatives such as the US CHIPS Act onshoring fabrication, and China pushing towards onshoring chips away from Taiwanese imports, the increased demand for raw materials to feed these new installations is likely going to have a medium- to long-term impact, the company explains.

In anticipation of the proposed merger, ASPI says the Renergen team have been supported by the ASPI team, including process engineering and upstream development expertise.

Renergen has engaged Kinley Exploration to conduct all seismic activity and guidance on drilling and the group now has seven active drilling units on site.

Enabled by ASPI’s bridge loan to Renergen and acceleration of the project, ASPI says it now expects Renergen to deliver at least $20-million in revenues during 2026 and be cash flow positive.

The transaction is expected to be highly accretive to ASPI's revenue, earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), earnings per share and cash flow per share during 2026.

ASPI says the goal of the combined group is to generate over $300-million in Ebitda in 2030, which is expected to be driven by a mix of isotopes, helium and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales into the South African energy market, based on management's current estimates, expectations and assumptions regarding the execution on ASPI's and Renergen's businesses strategies.

QUANTUM LEAP ENERGY

Meanwhile, ASPI appointed Dr Ryno Pretorius as CEO of its subsidiary Quantum Leap Energy (QLE) in May.

The company explains that his focus has been to accelerate development and he is in the process of expanding the senior leadership team and expediting the permitting and licensing process of nuclear fuel plants in three jurisdictions.

The company notes that there is a considerable amount of customer demand for high-assay low-enriched uranium (Haleu), as well as lithium-6 and lithium-7.

ASPI says it expects to have the first lithium-6 plant operational during 2026, subject to the timely receipt of all required permits and licences.

The company aims to have a Haleu production facility operational during 2027, subject to the receipt of all required permits and licences.

Moreover, ASPI notes that it aims to start construction of critical materials plants in the US during 2026 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US-based Fermi America.

The company says the recent joint venture MoU with Fermi America contemplates a transformative step for the company, with both ASPI and QLE expected to lease space for facilities at the planned HyperGrid Campus in Amarillo, Texas – a strategically pre-qualified nuclear site located adjacent to the US Department of Energy’s Pantex plant.

The company says this planned collaboration with Fermi America envisages the research, development and construction of multiple large-scale advanced nuclear fuel enrichment facilities, capable of producing significant volumes of Haleu for the small modular reactor industry.

ASPI also expects to develop a standalone enrichment and production facility for a suite of critical stable isotopes, such as silicon-28, germanium-70 and xenon-129.

“With Fermi America's ambitious plans to deliver over 11 GW with 6 GW of nuclear generation to power AI infrastructure and data centres, QLE is positioned as a future supplier of critical fuel and an enabler of the world's most advanced energy and data ecosystems.

“This convergence of regulatory progress, industrial partnerships and robust market demand positions QLE to be part of the global nuclear renaissance,” the company says.

Meanwhile, ASPI says PET Labs – one of ASPI’s business segments – continues to make continued progress and is on track to dispense a record number of doses this year.

The company notes that PET Labs continues to deliver “outstanding progress” with its second cyclotron operational as of July, following an 18-month commissioning phase. With its current cyclotron already operating at peak utilisation, frequently completing four production runs nightly, the company says the business is meeting record demand.

In August, PET Labs became authorised and able to dispense single-photon emission computerised tomography, or SPECT, radioisotopes – in addition to positron emission tomography (PET) radioisotopes – and this will likely drive a strong uptick in deliveries during the fourth quarter of this year.

“We are proud that PET Labs provides all treatments to children under 18 entirely free of charge, ensuring no child is denied access to critical care due to family financial constraints,” says ASPI.

The company says this initiative has generated immense goodwill in South Africa and strengthened the company's relationship with the government, enhancing its position as it pursues further growth opportunities both organically and through acquisitions.

ASPI says its relationship with IsoBio is expected to be transformational for the company.

“IsoBio, backed by PET Labs and ASPI, is building a best-in-class pipeline of radiotherapeutics targeting difficult-to-treat tumours using lutetium-177, actinium-225, terbium-161 and other cutting-edge radioisotopes.”

By integrating IsoBio's proprietary antibody isotope conjugate platform with PET Labs' secure isotope supply chain, ASPI says the group mitigates one of the largest risks facing radiotherapy developers and positions itself with a unique competitive advantage.

Led by seasoned biotech executive Dr Bruce Turner and supported by oncology and nuclear medicine experts, ASPI says IsoBio is poised to advance highly differentiated therapies into the clinic, while PET Labs progresses its own biotech assets towards human trials in 2026.

“Together these initiatives create a compelling global growth story in precision oncology”.