CEO of company buying Moltex weighs in on future in N. B.
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In a first interview with Brunswick News, Nuclea Energy Inc. CEO Josef Freundorfer says he sees value in New Brunswick, with decisions still to be madePublished Aug 16, 2026•6 minute readYou can save this article by registering for freehere. Orsign-inif you have an account. Nuclea Energy Inc. CEO Josef FreundorferSubmittedThe head of a nuclear technology start-up that’s purchasing Saint John-based Moltex Energy Canada’s SMR technology says he sees value in New Brunswick, calling it an “excellent landscape for us to be in as nuclear. ”Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists. Create an account or sign in to keep reading. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite journalists. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsIn a first interview with Brunswick News, Nuclea Energy Inc. CEO Josef Freundorfer says there’s still lots to be determined as the Ontario-based company completes the sale for Moltex’s assets that have been locked in its parent company’s receivership for over a year. If Moltex will reestablish an office and engineering capacity in New Brunswick, or if the next steps in developing the technology to commercialization will be moved to Nuclea headquarters in Mississauga, Ont. isn’t being revealed just yet, Freundorfer said. But he said the coming months will see him look to “strengthen relationships” with both industry and the provincial government as it plots out a path to SMR commercialization. “You have a university that’s been dedicating research towards the advancement of the technology,” Freundorfer said, when asked about whether there’s still a future for Moltex and now Nuclea’s own SMR technology in New Brunswick. “You have a government that has an operating reactor, is and has been interested in advanced nuclear technology, has attracted advanced nuclear technology to the province, including Moltex, which has led to this ecosystem, and you have a site that’s willing to host new reactors. “And there are proponents around New Brunswick interested in power at varying sizes, and this is an excellent landscape for us to be in as nuclear, and it’s one that we’ve been developing relationships in with our Morpheus reactor. “There’s a lot of potential there, but also in terms of the acquisition. ”He added: “We see that as being a strong fit for ourselves. ”In announcing the acquisition last week, Nuclea stated it will continue to pursue the commercialization of Moltex’s efforts to build an SMR which spanned nearly the last decade in New Brunswick, but now alongside its own prospective technology. Nuclea itself is in the initial stages of developing what it calls a “morpheus micro reactor,” a factory-built micro-modular reactor designed for use in remote and constrained locations. Meanwhile, since 2018, Moltex established its operations in New Brunswick under arrangements with NB Power and the New Brunswick government, with the goal being to eventually deploy its technology at Point Lepreau. A clear and concise roundup to start your weekday morning. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Morning Email Telegraph-Journal will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBut efforts towards the goal had been derailed. Moltex spent more than a year stalled in its parent company’s receivership. That’s as the Holt government and NB Power, saddled with debt and scarred from poor past decisions, have signalled they’re now likely going in a different direction, uninterested in building a “first-of-a-kind” SMR at Lepreau. “I would say that we don’t see that so much as a problem as more as just something that allows us to better understand the situation,” Freundorfer said, when asked about the Holt government’s position. “When you look at the risk associated with the first of a kind and NB Power, and the province of New Brunswick’s obvious reluctance to want to carry all of that burden themselves, it’s not surprising, really. “I think when you look at, especially some novel technologies, taking all of that risk yourself is likely not within the capacity. But does that mean that these projects can’t continue? Definitely not. ”He continued: “And with the right project structure and project team, if anything, it opens the door to being able to deploy nuclear in New Brunswick at large if you’re able to structure yourselves appropriately and bring in the right team with the right interests and motivations. “So we see it much more as an opportunity, and we’re very keen to be pursuing these discussions both at the governmental level as well as at the utility level to both further understand their position as well as present ours, and see where there’s that match that you can really make something happen from. ”Freundorfer himself has worked for stints with Bruce Power at its nuclear generating station on the eastern shore of Lake Huron in Ontario as a reactor design engineer, and with Candu Energy as it refurbished one of Bruce’s reactors. Nuclea’s technology was originally conceived by one of the company’s founders, Dr. Eleodor Nichita, a former reactor physicist for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, who’s now a professor at Ontario Tech University. He eventually partnered with two others in southern Ontario, Sagar Sanghera and Vinny Gunda, whose careers in capital markets and finance brought them to form a startup looking to develop fast chargers. “One of the common problems they were always running into was not technology, not funding, not even receptivity of communities. It was actually the capacity to access actual electricity from the grid,” Freundorfer said. All three believe SMRs are the solution. They’ve pursued the technology for the last three years from an office near Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Freundorfer said that through the Nuclea’s founders’ connections within the capital markets and the mergers and acquisition landscape they learned of Moltex. They brought it to the company’s board, including Freundorfer, who said he knew Moltex CEO Rory O’Sullivan and the technology. “It’s the beauty of Canada and its nuclear sector here, in that there’s just so many interwoven connections, and it’s also a small enough space,” Freundorfer said. “It was an excellent and opportunistic moment for us. ”There are still several question marks around what happens next. Freundorfer wouldn’t say whether the SMR technology to convert existing nuclear waste into carbon-free energy will keep the Moltex name. He also wouldn’t say if O’Sullivan will remain with the company. Meanwhile, Nuclea itself has undergone some major changes of late. Brunswick News reported earlier this month that Nuclea abruptly ended an attempt to raise $50 million, money it was going to use, in part, to purchase the New Brunswick small modular nuclear reactor startup’s technology. It was to do so by selling shares through an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Instead, in a twist, Nuclea announced it was merging with a telemedicine company based in Dallas, Texas that sells lifestyle medications online, specializing in erectile dysfunction, hair loss, and weight management treatments. Mangoceuticals is already listed on the American stock exchange. Questions around the future financing of commercialization efforts also must wait, Freundorfer said, when asked. “But there will be stuff coming out hopefully within the next few weeks,” he said. Meanwhile, Freundorfer did have a message for New Brunswickers who may be wary of a company that has received more than $10 million in taxpayers dollars from successive provincial governments. “I would say to New Brunswickers, don’t underestimate what you have,” he said. “What has come about through all that has gone on in Canada, but especially in New Brunswick related to nuclear technology, isn’t something that has happened much in the world. “When you look to the U. S. , when you look to Europe, when you look to other jurisdictions that have gone and done nuclear in the last 10 years, there’s very little supply chain left, there’s very little R&D, there’s very little workforce that is used to and capable of actual nuclear projects. ”He added: “New Brunswick has all of that. ”Freundorfer recalled that on almost every nuclear project he has worked on in Ontario someone on staff was from the Maritimes. “There is a broad and capable workforce with an ecosystem that does exist, and it is something to be proud of,” he said. “You know, it’s not an easy path, and there’s been struggles in the last few years from what I’ve been hearing in New Brunswick. “But what is present is of great significance. ”He added: “And that’s what makes New Brunswick an exciting place for us at Nuclea. ”Join the ConversationCity hallNew BrunswickSaint John & SouthNew BrunswickLifeThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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