ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before deciding to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. References to past events are provided by way of example only and are not intended to be a complete listing or a representation as to whether or not such factors have occurred in the past or their likelihood of occurring in the future. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business or results of operations.
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Risk Factors Summary
Our limited commercial operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our prospects, the risks and challenges we may encounter and our total potential addressable market.
Any delays in the development and construction of our IMSR plants and the manufacturing of their key components may adversely impact our business and financial condition.
If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed.
Any failure to effectively update the design, construction, and operations of our planned IMSR Plants to ensure cost competitiveness could reduce the marketability of our designs and has the potential to impact deployment schedules.
Successful commercialization of new, or further enhancements to existing, alternative low-carbon energy generation technologies may adversely affect the market demand for our IMSR Plants.
If demand for our IMSR Plants fails to develop sufficiently, our business and operations could suffer, and we would be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.
Our IMSR Plant design may not attract customers as quickly as we expect, or at all.
Customers may rescind or back out of non-binding agreements due to various reasons, which could adversely affect our revenue streams, project timelines, and overall financial performance.
Our cost estimates are sensitive to broader economic factors, and our ability to control or manage our costs may be limited.
Competition from existing or new competitors or technologies domestically and internationally could cause us to experience one or more of downward pressures on prices, lower customer demand for our products and services, reduced margins, the inability to take advantage of new business opportunities and the loss of market share.
Changes in the availability and cost of electricity, natural gas, oil and other forms of energy are subject to volatile market conditions that could adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The potential disruption of uranium supply chains makes long-range planning uncertain.
The cost of electricity and heat generated from nuclear sources may not be cost competitive with other electricity generation sources and/or heat generated from other sources in some markets, which could materially and adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
Our illustrative unit economics are subject to significant risks, assumptions, estimates, and uncertainties. As a result, our actual revenues, timing for achieving business milestones, expenses, capital expenditures, profitability and cash flows may differ materially from our expectations.
The IMSR plants may not operate as planned.
We and our customers operate in a politically sensitive environment, and the public perception of nuclear energy and radioactive materials could materially and adversely affect us, our customers, and the markets in which we operate.
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Incidents involving nuclear energy facilities, including accidents, terrorist acts or other high-profile events involving radioactive materials, could materially and adversely affect the public perception of the safety of nuclear energy and adversely affect our business.
The direct and indirect impact on us and our customers from severe weather and other effects of climate change and the economic impacts of the transition to low-emissions energy, could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
The occurrence of adverse events, cancellations of significant projects, delays in project timelines, adjustments in cost structures, and other negative developments announced by competitors could have an impact on our operations, financial performance, and future prospects.
The IMSR Plant involves toxic, hazardous and/or radioactive materials and could result in liability without regard to fault or negligence.
Unsatisfactory safety performance or security incidents at our customers’ facilities — or any nuclear facility around the world — could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to information technology and cyber security threats which could have adverse effects, including regulatory effects, on our business and results of operations.
We and our third-party vendors may not be able to obtain sufficient materials or supplied components to meet our manufacturing and operating needs, or obtain such materials on favorable terms or at expected costs.
Our failure to successfully recruit and retain experienced and qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our ability to protect our patents and other intellectual property rights may be challenged and is not guaranteed.
We currently enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain issued patents and trademarks and may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
We may need to defend ourselves against intellectual property infringement claims, which may be time-consuming and could cause us to incur substantial fees and costs.
We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our IMSR Plants.
We may be subject to claims of ownership and other rights to our patents and other intellectual property by third parties.
Customization and hybridization of the Thermal and Electric Facility may require additional research and development and/or reliance on external service providers.
Some of our management team have limited experience in operating a public company.
Compliance with the reporting obligations under the United States securities laws and Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley requires expenditures of capital and other resources and may divert management’s attention. If we fail to comply with these reporting obligations or to maintain adequate internal controls our operations, and investors’ confidence in us, could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks related to compliance with law, government regulation and litigation.
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Risks related to our capital resources and our ability to continue as a going concern, and risks related to tax laws and regulations.
Risks related to the volatility of our common stock, and provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws.
Risks as an emerging growth company.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We have not yet constructed an IMSR Plant, nor have we entered into any binding contract with any customer, including any of our current portfolio of project consortium partners, to operate an IMSR Plant or deliver electricity or heat, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so in the future. Our limited commercial operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our prospects, the risks and challenges we may encounter and our total potential addressable market.
Our business plan includes entering into arrangements with customers, which we also refer to as project consortium partners (including builder-operators, offtake customers, suppliers as well as public and private project investors), who will construct and operate IMSR Plants. Our ability to execute on our business plan will be subject to reaching binding agreements with potential customers for electricity or heat delivered by our IMSR Plant. If no potential near-term customer enters into such binding agreements, our planned construction and operation of our IMSR Plants could be significantly delayed. Such delays would result in delays in revenue and could hinder our ability to gain market traction with other potential customers. This could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. To date, we have entered into contingent non-binding letters of intent to cooperate with potential customers to identify sites and land-use requirements for IMSR Plant licensing and construction, which may not result in binding agreements for the purchase of our products or services. We have been selected to site an IMSR Plant at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, subject to successful site characterization studies, governing body approvals and regulatory approvals. As a result of our limited commercial operating history and ongoing changes in our new and evolving industry, including evolving demand for our products and services and the potential development of technologies that may prove more or for our intended use cases, our ability to forecast our future results of operations and plan for and model future growth is limited and subject to a number of uncertainties. Therefore, there can be no assurance that our internal estimates relating to the size of our serviceable addressable market will be correct. In addition, our expectations with respect to our serviceable addressable market may differ from those of third parties, including investors or securities analysts.
Any delays in the development and construction of our IMSR plants and the manufacturing of their key components due to a number of factors, including the degree of pre-fabrication, standardization, on-site construction, long-lead procurement, contractor performance, plant pre-operational and startup testing and other site-specific considerations may adversely impact our business and financial condition.
The success of our business will depend in large part on our ability to successfully deliver the IMSR plant to customers on-time and on-budget at specified performance levels. There is no guarantee that our planned deployments of the IMSR plant will be successful, timely, or on budget. There can be no assurance that we will not experience operational or process failures and other problems during our first commercial deployment or any planned deployment thereafter.
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In the future, we may experience delays, cost overruns or other complications in the design, manufacture, production and delivery of the IMSR plant and its key components, such as the IMSR Core-unit and IMSR Fuel Salt, that could prevent us from delivering IMSR plants in 2034 or beyond. We have not updated third-party cost estimates related to building our IMSR plants since 2021 and the cost environment may have adversely changed since such preliminary third-party cost estimates were obtained. Such third-party cost estimates may be significantly higher than our current estimates, which affect the marketability, capital and operational costs of our IMSR plants and our expectations with respect to our business plan and future profitability. The effect of such complications may be increased as a result of rising commodity prices and interest rates, which may increase costs to us and to our customers and may adversely affect the competitiveness of our IMSR plants compared to more established, competing means of supplying electricity or heat. If delays like this occur, we could experience issues or in sustaining or further increasing production and sales of IMSR plants. Similarly, we do not yet have binding commitments with any customers for the purchase of our IMSR Core-unit or IMSR Fuel Salt, and if we are to competitively price these components as a result of increased costs or in their production or otherwise, we may not realize the expected revenues associated with supplying our IMSR Plant to our customers, or our customers may need to rely on third-parties to provide components and fuel for their IMSR plants.
If we encounter difficulties in scaling our production and delivery capabilities, if we fail to develop and successfully commercialize our IMSR plants and related technologies, if we fail to timely develop such technologies before our competitors or if such technologies fail to perform as expected, are inferior to those of our competitors or are perceived as less safe or less efficient than those of our competitors, our business and financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted.
Our limited commercial operating history in a rapidly evolving industry makes it difficult for us to evaluate our future prospects and prepare for the risks and challenges we may encounter.
We have a limited commercial operating history in a rapidly evolving industry. The markets for nuclear reactor design, nuclear reactor production, nuclear fuel design, nuclear fuel supply, and services related to any or all of the foregoing business may not continue to develop in a manner that we expect or that otherwise would be favorable to our business. As a result of our limited operating history and ongoing changes in our new and evolving industry, including evolving demand for our products and services and the potential development of technologies that may prove more efficient or effective for our intended use cases, our ability to forecast our future results of operations and plan for and model future growth is limited and subject to a number of uncertainties. We have encountered and expect to continue to encounter risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly evolving industries, such as the risks and uncertainties described in this annual report. Accordingly, should we provide forecasts in the future, we may be unable to prepare accurate internal financial forecasts or replace anticipated revenue that we do not receive as a result of delays, changed circumstances, or changed market conditions arising from these factors, and our results of operations in future reporting periods may be below the expectations of investors or analysts. If we do not address these risks , our results of operations could differ materially from our estimates and forecasts or the expectations of investors or analysts, causing our business to and our common stock price to .
If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed.
In order to achieve the future revenue growth anticipated, we must finalize our IMSR Plant design, receive regulatory approvals, including the USNRC and other regulatory bodies licensing our IMSR Plants, design, construct and license facilities to manufacture and produce IMSR Core-units and IMSR Fuel Salt, and continue to develop and market new products and services to traditional and non-traditional end-users. If our operations grow as planned, we intend to expand our operations significantly to meet anticipated demand. To properly manage our growth, we will need to hire and retain additional personnel, upgrade our existing operational management and financial and reporting systems, and improve our business processes and controls. Our future expansion will include:
hiring and training new personnel;
completing the designs and licensing of our first IMSR Plant;
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customizing applications of our IMSR Plants to serve both traditional utility and electric power customers and a broad base of non-traditional industrial customers interested in utilizing the efficient high-temperature heat produced by our design;
developing the supply chain necessary to supply components for our IMSR Plant;
developing the processes and technologies to transport radiological materials;
developing IMSR Fuel Salt production capabilities and capacity to transport and deliver IMSR Fuel Salt, including the ability to purchase SALEU UF4 and the other elements of the IMSR Fuel Salt;
developing the operational capabilities and functions necessary for others to operate our IMSR Plant;
controlling expenses and investments in anticipation of expanded operations and rising costs;
upgrading the existing operational management and financial reporting systems and team to comply with requirements as a public company; and
implementing and enhancing administrative infrastructure, systems and processes.
If our operations continue to grow as planned, of which there can be no assurance, we will need to expand our sales and marketing, research and development, customer and commercial strategy, permitting and licensing, products and services, manufacturing, supply, and operations functions. These efforts will require us to invest significant financial and other resources, including in industries and sales channels in which we have limited experience to date. We will also need to continue to leverage our manufacturing and operational systems and processes, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to scale the business as currently planned or within the planned timeframe. The continued expansion of our business may also require additional manufacturing and operational facilities, as well as space for administrative support, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to find suitable locations for such facilities.
Our continued growth could increase the strain on our resources, and we could experience operating difficulties, including difficulties in hiring and training employees, finding manufacturing capacity to produce our IMSR Plants and related equipment, delays in production, finding suitable locations or partners for our IMSR plants, challenges in scaling-up IMSR Fuel Salt and IMSR Core-unit production capacity and supply, and difficulty sourcing adequate raw materials for our IMSR Plants. These difficulties may divert the attention of management and key employees and impact financial and operational results. If we are unable to drive commensurate growth, these costs, which include lease commitments, headcount and capital assets, could result in decreased margins, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
IMSR Plants may suffer significant construction delays or cost increases as a result of a variety of factors. Any such delays could cause the construction of a project to ultimately be unprofitable for the Company or otherwise adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our IMSR Plant design development will be actively managed through design reviews, prototyping of key systems, involvement of external partners and application of industry lessons, but we could still fail to identify latent manufacturing and construction issues early enough to avoid negative effects on construction or ultimate performance of our IMSR Plants.
While the Company anticipates improved cost efficiency as it gains further experience in delivering IMSR Plants, there may be delays or unexpected developments at such later stages of completing projects, which could cause construction costs to exceed the Company’s expectations as a result of a variety of factors, including but not limited to:
failure to secure and maintain environmental and other permits or regulatory approvals;
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failure to complete the interconnection to transmission networks;
changes in local or municipal support for the project;
unexpected problems with EPC contractor or supplier solvency;
appeals of environmental and other permits or approvals that the Company obtains;
changes in the regulatory regime applicable to the construction of the project;
failure to obtain required financing;
increases in interest rates;
failure to obtain all necessary rights to land access and use;
failure to receive critical components and equipment that meet design specifications;
delays in scheduled deliveries of critical components and equipment;
failure to receive quality and timely performance from key contractors and vendors;
increases in supplier costs, including those due to unexpected increases in inflation, currency exchange rates, tariffs, or commodity prices;
unforeseen engineering problems;
failure by third parties to timely construct facilities that will be used by the Company under co-tenancy arrangements;
work stoppages, strikes, labor underperformance or shortages of skilled labor;
inclement weather conditions;
adverse environmental and geological conditions; and
force majeure or other events beyond the Company’s control, including changes in law or in political support.
Any failure to effectively update the design, construction, and operations of our planned IMSR Plants to ensure cost competitiveness could reduce the marketability of our designs and has the potential to impact deployment schedules.
Updating our designs, construction models, and operation models will be necessary to be competitive and attractive in the market, particularly in the United States where the price of power is generally lower than in certain other key markets. If we are not able to achieve and maintain cost-competitiveness of our IMSR Fuel Salt or our planned IMSR Plants in the United States or elsewhere, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
Successful commercialization of new, or further enhancements to existing, alternative low-carbon energy generation technologies, such as adding carbon capture and sequestration/storage mechanisms to fossil fuel power plants, wind, solar, geothermal or fusion, may prove to be more cost effective or appealing to the global energy markets and therefore may adversely affect the market demand for our IMSR Plants, potentially adversely affecting our ability to successfully commercialize our IMSR Plants.
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The expected market for our IMSR Plant generating electric power and high-temperature heat may be superseded or rendered obsolete by new technology or the novel application of existing technologies. Our estimates for the serviceable addressable market and our expectations, inclusive of recent updates, with regards to certain unit economics are based on a number of internal and third-party estimates, including our potential contracted revenue, the number of potential customers who have expressed interest in our IMSR Plant, assumed prices and production and regulatory costs for our IMSR Plant, our ability to leverage our current logistical and operational processes, assumptions regarding our technology and general market conditions. However, our assumptions and the data underlying our estimates may not be correct and the conditions supporting our assumptions or estimates may change at any time, reducing the predictive accuracy of these underlying factors. As a result, our expected performance, our estimates of the serviceable addressable market for our products and services, as well as the expected growth rate for the serviceable addressable market for our products and services, may prove to be incorrect. Any material change to our assumptions or expectations with respect to the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and could harm our reputation.
If demand for our IMSR Plants fails to develop sufficiently, our business and operations could suffer, and we would be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.
The viability and continued growth in demand for new nuclear technologies, and in turn, our IMSR Plant, may be impacted by many factors outside of our control, including:
market acceptance of nuclear energy;
cost competitiveness, reliability and performance of our IMSR Plants compared to conventional and renewable energy sources and products;
the extent to which the nuclear power industry and broader energy industries are deregulated to permit quicker and broader adoption of nuclear electricity generation;
the cost and availability of skilled labor, key materials and components used in the production of our IMSR Plants;
prices of traditional utility-provided energy sources; and
the emergence, continuance, or success of, or increased government support for, other alternative energy generation technologies and products.
Reduction in energy demand or changes in climate-related policies may change market conditions, reducing our product’s competitiveness and affecting our performance. If demand does not grow, our business and operations could suffer, which would have an adverse impact on our ability to grow our business and we could be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.
Our IMSR Plant design may not attract customers as quickly as we expect, or at all.
IMSR and other advanced nuclear technologies are relatively new and unproven and may be more costly than alternatives. Accordingly, adoption of our technology, IMSR Plants or advanced nuclear technologies generally, among our potential customers may progress more slowly than we anticipate, or it may be more expensive to bring potential customers into our pipeline. Any delay or failure to sell IMSR Plants to our customers may have a material and adverse impact on our business and financial condition.
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Customers may rescind or back out of non-binding agreements due to various reasons, which could adversely affect our revenue streams, project timelines, and overall financial performance.
We have entered into and may enter into additional non-binding agreements, such as a memorandum of understanding or a letter of interest with customers for the purchase of power or to collaborate on projects. These memoranda of understanding and letters of interest are non-binding and the underlying contracts may not come to fruition as a result of, among other things, changes in business priorities, financial constraints, regulatory changes, force majeure events, failure to obtain necessary approvals, or failure to meet contractual obligations by either party. The termination of these agreements could adversely affect our business. For example, while we expect to enter into agreements with the Texas A&M University System to construct an IMSR Plant at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus site in accordance with our December 2024 MOU, no assurances can be given as to whether or when we may be able to do so. Additionally, loss of planned customers or projects may negatively impact our reputation and future business prospects.
Our cost estimates are sensitive to broader economic factors, and our ability to control or manage our costs may be limited .
Capital and operating costs for the deployment of our first commercial IMSR Plant may be difficult to project, are inherently variable and are subject to significant change based on a variety of factors, including site specific factors, customer off-take requirements, regulatory oversight, operating agreements, supply chain availability, inflation, cost escalations for first-of-a-kind technologies and other factors. Opportunities for cost reductions with subsequent deployments are similarly uncertain. To the extent cost reductions are not achieved within the expected timeframe or magnitude, the IMSR Plant may not be cost competitive with alternative technologies, which could materially and adversely affect our expected revenues, gross margins and unit economics and levelized cost expectations.
Competition from existing or new competitors or technologies domestically and internationally could cause us to experience one or more of downward pressures on prices, lower customer demand for our products and services, reduced margins, the inability to take advantage of new business opportunities and the loss of market share .
We operate in highly competitive markets and are subject to competition based upon product design, performance, technology, pricing, quality, and services, from competing nuclear suppliers as well as from alternative means of producing electricity and/or heat. There are a number of advanced reactor designs, and advanced reactor projects, under development in the United States. Many of these designs are involved in pre-application review with the USNRC. Our advanced design, projected product design performance, engineering expertise, and quality control have been important factors in our growth; nonetheless other companies providing competing technologies could capture customers or market share from us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.
Moreover, our competitors may develop or adopt technologies that are superior, more efficient, more effective, and/or more attractive to prospective customers compared to our technologies (on a price-to-value basis, operational impact, or otherwise), or may adapt more quickly to leverage new or emerging technologies or meet new or evolving regulatory requirements in our target markets. We will need to anticipate and respond to these changes by enhancing our offerings and/or internal processes in order to maintain our competitive position, but we may not be successful in doing so. In such scenarios, the Company may not be able to commercialize the IMSR Plant.
For sales and/or deployments outside of jurisdictions with highly-developed nuclear regulatory frameworks, some of our foreign competitors currently benefit from, and others may benefit in the future from, permissive regulatory and licensing regimes and/or from protective measures by their home countries where governments are providing financial support, including significant investments in the development of new technologies. Those competitors may have a competitive advantage if they are able to obtain approvals, or if they can demonstrate to potential customers the value and benefits of their products and services, particularly in jurisdictions that have less stringent nuclear regulatory requirements. These competitors may have access to greater sources of funding to develop and commercialize their products than we do, whether as a result of potential competitive advantages or from supportive national governments, and may be able to substantially discount sales costs of nuclear plants in their respective markets. This market environment may result in increased pressures on our pricing and other competitive factors.
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Substantial governmental support for competing technologies or their fuel supply may reduce our competitive advantages.
The U.S. government has announced initiatives to support a variety of Generation IV SMR technologies, including our technology and competing technologies. Among other programs, the U.S. Department of Energy has announced programs designed to support the creation of a U.S. supply chain for HALEU. Should the Federal Government seek to preferentially support competing nuclear technologies, we may experience a loss in competitive position in our sector. For example, should the U.S. government provide the substantial funding we believe would be necessary to establish a domestic HALEU supply chain at commercial scale, then the competitive advantage of our choice of SALEU as a fuel for the IMSR Plant would be reduced.
Changes in the availability and cost of electricity, natural gas, oil and other forms of energy are subject to volatile market conditions that could adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The prices for and availability of electricity, natural gas, oil and other energy resources are subject to volatile market conditions. We do not control these market conditions, which are, moreover, often affected by political and economic factors beyond our control. Decreases in energy prices, or changes in nuclear energy costs relative to other forms of energy, may adversely affect our business. To the extent that these uncertainties cause suppliers and customers to be more cost sensitive or to adjust their business plans and operations, decreased energy prices may have an adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition results of operations and cash flow.
The potential disruption of uranium supply chains makes long-range planning uncertain.
Our IMSR technology depends on a reliable supply of enriched uranium, and supply restrictions and major cost increases in the international market for natural uranium, uranium enrichment, and/or conversion services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our revenue necessarily is dependent upon, and affected by, the long and short-term availability of uranium, which is subject to significant volatility. The international market for uranium has been and will continue to be affected by numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include the demand for nuclear power, political and economic conditions in uranium producing and consuming countries, uranium production levels and costs of production.
The cost of electricity and heat generated from nuclear sources may not be cost competitive with other electricity generation sources and/or heat generated from other sources in some markets, which could materially and adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
Many U.S. electricity markets price electric energy, heat, capacity, and/or ancillary services on a competitive basis, with market prices subject to substantial fluctuations. Other markets remain heavily regulated by state or local utility regulatory authorities, with power or heat purchase decisions by electric utilities subject to various competitiveness or prudence tests. As a result of competitive pressures, some electricity markets experience low marginal energy and heat prices at certain times due to a combination of subsidized generating resources, competitors with low-cost or no-cost fuel sources, or market-design features that create incentives for certain attributes or deliver revenue in unpredictable ways over time, and we may not be able to compete in these markets unless the benefits of our SALEU-fuel nuclear plant using our advanced technology and business model are sufficiently valued. Even in markets that price reliable capacity on a long-term basis, there is no guarantee that our IMSR Plants will be sufficiently low-cost so as to clear auction-style capacity markets, or to attract customers to sign power purchase agreements with our IMSR Plants on commercially acceptable terms, and, further, clearing in any one (1) year is no guarantee of similar outcome in successive years.
Given the relatively lower electricity prices and higher availability of power in the United States when compared to many international markets, the risk may be greater with respect to business in the United States. Regardless of jurisdiction, however, failure of the cost of electricity and heat generated from our IMSR Plants to be cost competitive with electricity and/or heat generated from other sources, will limit our ability to charge a premium relative to other energy sources, which could materially and adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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Our illustrative unit economics and levelized cost information are subject to significant risks, assumptions, estimates, and uncertainties. As a result, our actual revenues, timing for achieving business milestones, expenses, capital expenditures, profitability and cash flows may differ materially from our expectations .
Our illustrative unit economics and levelized cost information are subject to significant risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. They reflect our then-current views with respect to future events or our future financial performance, were based on assumptions, and involved known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the illustrative unit economics and levelized cost information that we may provide from time to time. We may not actually achieve the plans, expectations or objectives contemplated by our illustrative unit economics and levelized cost information, and the underlying assumptions may prove incorrect. Such deviations may be due to factors outside our control or currently unknown to us. For example, our actual revenues, timing for achieving business milestones, expenses, capital expenditures, profitability and cash flows may differ materially from our expectations. Therefore, undue reliance should not be placed on any such data.
The IMSR plants may not operate as planned.
The success of our business will depend, among other things, on the amount of electricity and heat produced by the IMSR plants we develop. A number of different factors, including plant start-up issues, degradation of our IMSR Core-unit at a faster rate than anticipated, latent defect, design error, operator error, slow response to outages due to underperforming monitoring systems, poor weather conditions and vandalism or theft could adversely affect the amount of nuclear power produced, and thus reduce revenues. Even if our IMSR plants do perform as expected, external factors such as grid connectivity issues may affect their output. Unplanned outages or prolonged downtown for maintenance and repair typically increase operation and maintenance expenses and reduce revenues as a result of output. We do not have current plans to carry insurance coverage for, or employ other risks sharing structures, to mitigate all risks associated with the delivery and performance of the IMSR plant.
Any actual or perceived safety or reliability issues may result in significant reputational harm to our businesses, in addition to tort liability and other costs that may arise. Such issues could result in delaying or cancelling planned deployments of IMSR plants, increased regulation, or other systemic consequences. Our inability to meet safety standards or adverse publicity affecting our reputation as a result of accidents or mechanical failures could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
We and our customers operate in a politically sensitive environment, and the public perception of nuclear energy and radioactive materials could materially and adversely affect us, our customers, and the markets in which we operate.
Successful execution of our business model is dependent upon public support for nuclear power in the United States and other countries. The risks associated with uses of radioactive materials, both in our nuclear facilities and the public perception of those risks, can affect our business. Opposition by third parties can delay or prevent the licensing and construction of new nuclear power facilities and in some cases can limit the operation of nuclear reactors. Adverse public reaction to developments in the use of nuclear power could directly affect our customers and indirectly affect our business. In addition, journalists, trade press, and other third parties, potentially including one or more of the agencies with regulatory jurisdiction over us, may publish statements that negatively affect the public or political perception of us. We may also face adverse public or political perception due to a variety of environmental and social factors, including as relevant standards continue to evolve. Stakeholder and policymaker expectations on such matters are not uniform, and any failure to successfully navigate such expectations may result in various impacts. public opinion or political perceptions could result in increased regulatory requirements and costs or increase the likelihood that our operations are subject to liabilities and , and directly affect our customers and indirectly affect our business. In the past, public reaction, increased regulatory and related have contributed to extended licensing and construction periods for new nuclear power facilities, sometimes construction schedules by decades or more, or even down operations at already-constructed nuclear power facilities.
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Incidents involving nuclear energy facilities, including accidents, terrorist acts or other high-profile events involving radioactive materials, could materially and adversely affect the public perception of the safety of nuclear energy, and such adverse effects could potentially decrease demand for nuclear energy, increase regulatory requirements and costs, or result in liability or claims that could materially and adversely affect our business.
Successful execution of our business model is dependent upon public support for nuclear power, in general, in the United States and other countries. Any significant incident affecting a nuclear energy facility could materially damage public perception of nuclear power. Similarly, adverse public reaction to such incidents (for example, incidents involving incidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and most recently Fukushima) led to increased public and regulatory scrutiny, which contributed to extended licensing and construction periods for new nuclear power plants, sometimes delaying construction schedules by decades or more or even shutting down operations at already-constructed nuclear power facilities. If a high-visibility or high-consequence nuclear incident, including the loss or mishandling of nuclear materials, or other event, such as a terrorist attack involving a nuclear facility, occurs, public to nuclear power may increase dramatically, regulatory requirements and costs could become more or prohibitory. Such an could also impact customer demand for heat, electricity, or fuel derived from nuclear energy. Any of these effects could materially and affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The direct and indirect impact on us and our customers from severe weather and other effects of climate change and the economic impacts of the transition to low-emissions energy, could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, and cash flows.
Our operations and properties, and those of our customers, may in the future be adversely impacted by flooding, wildfires, high winds, drought and other effects of severe weather conditions that may be caused or exacerbated by climate change. These events can force our customers to suspend operations at impacted properties and may result in significant damage to such properties. Even if these events do not directly impact us or our customers, they may indirectly impact us and our customers through increased insurance, energy or other costs. In addition, although the ongoing transition to low-emissions energy is creating significant opportunities for us and our customers, the transition also presents certain risks, including macroeconomic risks related to higher energy costs and energy shortages, among other things. These direct and indirect impacts from climate change could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results, supply chain and cash flows.
The occurrence of adverse events, cancellations of significant projects, delays in project timelines, adjustments in cost structures, and other negative developments announced by competitors could have an impact on our operations, financial performance, and future prospects.
The occurrence of newsworthy events in the nuclear industry as a whole, including, but not limited to, the delay of major projects, inflated cost adjustments, fluctuations in product pricing strategies, cancellations of public offerings, customer withdrawals, or disruptions in supply chain adversely affect our business in several ways, including:
● Negative news or events associated with industry peers may lead to decreased investor confidence in the sector, which could impact the broader stock market performance of companies operating within the industry, including the Company.
● Adverse events in competitor firms may alter the competitive landscape, affecting market share dynamics, pricing strategies, and overall positioning within the industry. This could impact our ability to retain or expand our market presence.
● Changes in market dynamics influenced by competitors ’ actions, such as inflated cost adjustments or potential cancellations, could have ripple effects on our financial stability and profitability, influencing our financial metrics and potentially impacting investor perceptions.
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While we implement risk mitigation strategies and highlight our unique business approach and how it differentiates from our peers, there is no guarantee that we will be insulated from the adverse effects of such events and the occurrence of any of these events could negatively impact our business operations and financial condition.
The IMSR Plant involves toxic, hazardous and/or radioactive materials and could result in liability without regard to fault or negligence.
Our customers’ operation of the IMSR Plant and the related supply chain involve the use, transportation, and disposal of toxic, hazardous and radioactive materials. A release of these materials could pose a health risk to humans, plants and animals or the environment. If an accident were to occur, its severity would depend on the volume and location of the release and the speed of corrective action taken by emergency response personnel, as well as other factors beyond our control, such as weather and wind conditions.
The IMSR Fuel Salt from each spent IMSR Core-unit is partially reused in each replacement IMSR Core-unit with the excess fuel salt removed and stored in a spent fuel vault within the plant nuclear containment until decommissioning of the IMSR Plant. Furthermore, each spent IMSR Core-unit, emptied of IMSR Fuel Salt, is removed to a separate and secure IMSR Core-unit Storage Silo within the reactor building, where it will remain for the life of the plant. As a result of the IMSR Plant’s spent fuel management process, we do not anticipate the plant requires a separate licensed facility for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel required by some of our competitors.
Nevertheless, IMSR Plant operations inherently involve the use, transportation, and disposal of toxic, hazardous and radioactive materials.
Under federal, state and local laws and regulations, a current or former owner or operator of real property may be liable for costs to remediate contamination resulting from the presence or release of hazardous substances, wastes or petroleum products. These costs to the owners and operators of our IMSR Plants could be substantial and liability under such laws is strict and may attach whether or not the owner or operator knew of or caused such contamination. We also may be liable for costs of remediating third-party disposal sites to which we arranged for the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances without regard to whether such disposal occurred in compliance with environmental laws. These matters could have a direct and indirect adverse effect on our financial condition.
Additionally, we may be responsible for decontamination or decommissioning of facilities where we conduct operations such as facilities for component manufacturing and fuel supply. Activities of our contractors, suppliers or other counterparties similarly may involve toxic, hazardous, and radioactive materials and we may be liable contractually, or under applicable law, to contribute to remedy damages or other costs arising from such activities, including the decontamination or decommission of third-party facilities.
Although we do not intend to operate IMSR Plants, IMSR Plants inherently involve radioactive materials and may involve toxic and hazardous materials. In the United States, the nuclear liability law codified at 42 U.S.C. 2210 et seq. (along with subsequent amendments, the “ Price-Anderson Act ”) and applicable USNRC regulations and corresponding insurance requirements channel liability to the nuclear operator of a nuclear power plant for third-party offsite damages caused by a nuclear incident or a precautionary evacuation due to a possible or actual nuclear incident. U.S. law is substantially similar in effect to global nuclear liability regimes wherein operators are subject to robust financial protection regimes, such as required insurance policies or government indemnification, to cover the operator’s financial risk in the event of a nuclear incident that gives rise to third-party offsite liability. Nonetheless it is possible that we may be liable contractually, or under applicable law, to contribute to remedy damages or other costs arising from such activities of operators or contractors, suppliers, our counterparties, including the decontamination or decommission of third-party facilities. In our contracts, we seek to protect ourselves from liability, but there is no assurance that such contractual on liability will be in all cases or in all jurisdictions. The costs of a claim arising out of a nuclear or precautionary evacuation not otherwise covered by insurance, and any awarded as a result of such claim, could affect our results of operations and financial condition. Long-term spent nuclear fuel storage, disposal and its associated costs could have a significant impact on our business operations if IMSR Plant customers view the risks associated with these issues and costs as high.
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Nuclear operations inherently produce various types of nuclear waste materials. The approval of a national repository for the storage of such waste materials and the timing of that facility opening may significantly affect the costs associated with the long-term storage of spent IMSR Core-units and IMSR Fuel Salt. Any regulatory action relating to the timing and availability of a repository for long-term storage of nuclear waste could adversely affect the ability to decommission fully our IMSR Plants and IMSR Core-units. We cannot predict whether a fee may be established or to what extent in the future for the long-term disposal of such waste.
Unsatisfactory safety performance or security incidents at our customers’ facilities — or any nuclear facility around the world — could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We design IMSR Plants that depend on complex, unproven technology. We also work cooperatively with our customers, suppliers, subcontractors, and other parties. Failures, disruptions or compromises to our or our third parties’ systems or facilities may be caused by natural disasters, accidents, power disruptions, telecommunications failures, acts of terrorism or war, computer viruses, bugs or vulnerabilities, physical or electronic break-ins, human error, targeted cyberattacks, other intentional conduct, or similar events or incidents. While we have built operational processes to ensure that the design, construction, performance and servicing of our IMSR Plants meet rigorous safety standards and performance goals, there can be no assurance that we will not experience operational or process failures or other , including through manufacturing or design , of third-party safeguards, or process , natural , cyber attacks, or other acts, that could result in potential safety risks. There can be no assurance that our preparations, or those of third parties, will be to prevent any such .
Any actual or perceived safety issues may result in significant reputational harm to our businesses, in addition to tort liability, maintenance, increased safety infrastructure and other costs that may arise. Such issues with our IMSR Plants, facilities, or customer safety could result in delaying or cancelling delivery of IMSR Plants to our customers, increased regulation or other systemic consequences. Our inability to meet our safety standards or address adverse publicity affecting our reputation as a result of accidents, mechanical failures, damages to customer property or medical complications could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
In the nuclear industry, accidents or incidents involving the mishandling of nuclear materials at any nuclear facility in the world have had and, in the future, could have an impact on other nuclear facilities around the world in terms of public acceptance, political pressures, and regulatory requirements and scrutiny. Incidents involving nuclear energy facilities, including accidents, terrorist acts or other high-profile events involving radioactive materials, could materially and adversely affect the public perception of the safety of nuclear energy, and such adverse effects could potentially decrease demand for nuclear energy, increase regulatory requirements and costs for us or our customers, impose delays or result in liability or claims that could materially and adversely affect our business.
We are subject to information technology and cyber security threats which could have adverse effects, including regulatory effects, on our business and results of operations.
We are increasingly dependent upon information technology systems, infrastructure and data to operate our business. In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store and transmit confidential information (including but not limited to intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information). It is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of such confidential information. We also have outsourced elements of our operations to third parties, and as a result we manage a number of third-party contractors who have access to our confidential information. Regarding actual IMSR Plant deployments, we are subject to the USNRC’s regulations in this area, the violation of which could carry regulatory enforcement action.
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Despite the implementation of security measures, given their size and complexity and the increasing amounts of confidential information that they maintain, our internal information technology systems and those of our contractors and consultants are potentially vulnerable to breakdown or other damage or interruption from service interruptions, system malfunction, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures, as well as security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, contractors, consultants, business partners, and/or other third parties, or from cyber-attacks by malicious third parties (including the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and the confidentiality, and availability of information), which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage. To the extent that any or security were to result in a of, or to, our data or applications, or disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and reputational , and the further development and commercialization of our products could be .
We cannot assure you that our data protection efforts and our investment in information technology will prevent significant breakdowns, data leakages, breaches in our systems or other cyber incidents that could have a material adverse effect upon our reputation, business, operations or financial condition. For example, we maintain databases comprised of our IMSR Plant design technical and engineering information and operations information. If one or more of these databases were to be lost or compromised, our ability to efficiently deploy and operate our IMSR Plants could be significantly impaired.
Furthermore, significant disruptions of our internal information technology systems or security breaches could result in the loss, misappropriation, and/or unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, confidential information (including, but not limited to, intellectual property, proprietary business information, and personal information), which could result in financial, legal, business, and reputational harm to us. For example, any such event that leads to unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of personal information, including personal information related to our employees, could harm our reputation directly, compel us to comply with federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, subject us to mandatory corrective action, and otherwise subject us to liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy and security of personal information, which could result in significant legal and financial exposure and reputational damages that could potentially have an effect on our business.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain materials and supplied components, some of which are highly specialized and are being designed for first-of-a-kind or sole use in the IMSR Plant. We and our third-party vendors may not be able to obtain sufficient materials or supplied components to meet our manufacturing and operating needs, or obtain such materials on favorable terms or at expected costs.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and supplied components. While alternative suppliers to our current suppliers are available, we may not be able to obtain sufficient raw materials or supplied components to meet our manufacturing and operating needs from alternative suppliers, or obtain such materials on favorable terms or at expected costs, which could impair our ability to meet demand in a timely manner or increase our costs of production.
We do not directly manufacture, and do not expect to manufacture, IMSR Plants, though we will manufacture the IMSR Core-unit and supply the IMSR Fuel Salt that are necessary for the operation of our IMSR Plants. Our ability to construct our IMSR Plants with project partners is dependent upon sufficient availability of raw materials, high quality equipment, parts, and components, including many highly technical components that are still under design, are being designed for first-of-a-kind or sole use in our IMSR Plant and have not yet been qualified for use, are only produced by a limited number of suppliers and may be particularly susceptible to cost increases, supply chain disruptions or inflationary pressures. Any supply chain disruption incurred by our third-party suppliers or degradation in the quality and processes of our manufacturer partners, may result in delays, cost overruns or impairments to the development of our IMSR Plants.
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Certain key nuclear grade materials and components, such as graphite, are currently produced in limited quantities and available predominantly from vendors outside of the United States e.g., Germany and Japan. Although U.S. graphite suppliers are developing the capability and capacity to supply our needs, any reliance on foreign suppliers to secure raw materials and supplied components exposes us to changing tariffs and volatility in the prices and availability of these materials, and may result in our being susceptible to changes in geopolitical relationships. We may not be able to obtain a sufficient supply of raw materials or supplied components, on favorable terms or at all, which could result in delays in, or the inability to, manufacture our IMSR Fuel Salt and IMSR Core-unit components and, in turn, construct our IMSR Plants with project partners or result in increased costs. These key materials and components may also be particularly vulnerable to inflationary pressures and cost increases.
Additionally, the imposition of tariffs and impacts of inflation on raw materials or supplied components for our IMSR Plants could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Prolonged disruptions in the supply of any of our key raw materials or components, difficulty qualifying new sources of supply, implementing use of replacement materials or new sources of supply or any volatility in prices could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate in a cost-efficient, timely manner. Such prolonged disruptions could also cause us to experience cancellations or delays of scheduled launches, customer cancellations or reductions in our prices and margins, any of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on key executives, management, directors, and other highly skilled personnel with highly technical expertise to execute our business plan and oversee our operations, as applicable. Our failure to successfully recruit and retain experienced and qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our success depends, in significant part, on the continued services of our senior management team and on our ability to attract, motivate, develop and retain a sufficient number of other highly skilled personnel, including highly competent engineers and scientists, and other qualified personnel with requisite industry knowledge, manufacturing and quality assurance, finance, marketing and sales personnel. Our senior management team has extensive experience in the energy and manufacturing industries, and we believe that their depth of experience is instrumental to our continued success. Nevertheless, the Company competes with other nuclear reactor companies, including Generation IV reactor companies, for the limited pool of these skilled professionals and such competition is intense. The loss of any one or more members of our senior management team, for any reason, including resignation or retirement, could impair our ability to execute our business strategy and have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition if we are unable to successfully attract and retain qualified and highly skilled replacement personnel. Additionally, possible of experienced personnel to competitors, and a possible transfer of know-how and trade secrets associated therewith, including the patenting by our competitors of technology built on our know-how obtained through former employees, could affect the Company’s long-term growth prospects. If we are to recruit and retain highly skilled personnel, especially senior management and personnel with sufficient technical expertise to develop our IMSR Plants including its component and service supply IMSR, we may experience , increased costs and reputational .
Our ability to protect our patents and other intellectual property rights may be challenged and is not guaranteed. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our business and competitive position may be harmed.
We may not be able to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position. We rely upon a combination of the intellectual property protections afforded by patents, trademarks/service marks, copyrights and trade secret laws in the United States and other jurisdictions, as well as commercial agreements such as confidentiality agreements, assignment agreements, and license agreements to establish, maintain and enforce rights associated with our IMSR Plants and related proprietary technologies. These measures are aimed at preventing third parties from using, practicing, selling, manufacturing, or otherwise commercially exploiting our IMSR Plants and related technologies, which would erode our competitive position in our market.
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Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and enforce patent protection for our IMSR Plants, as well as our ability to operate without infringing or violating the proprietary rights of others. We either own or have significant license rights to certain intellectual property applicable to our IMSR Plant, IMSR Fuel Salts and, key components, such as the IMSR Core Unit, including patent rights and pending patent applications on the same, and we will continue to file patent applications claiming new technologies directed to our IMSR Plants in the United States and in other jurisdictions based on several factors including, but not limited to, commercial viability. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights is difficult and costly, and the steps we have taken or will take to prevent misappropriation may not be sufficient.
As noted above, we also rely upon unpatented trade secret protection, unpatented know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and help maintain our business and competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary technology, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our suppliers, subcontractors, venture partners, employees and consultants, and other third parties. However, we may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of information which we consider to be confidential, our technical know-how or other trade secrets by the parties to these agreements, despite the existence generally of confidentiality provisions and other contractual restrictions. If any of the suppliers, subcontractors, venture partners, employees and consultants, and other third parties who are parties to these agreements breaches or violates the terms of any of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation, and we could lose our trade secrets as a result. It is also possible that our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information could be obtained by third parties as a result of of our physical or electronic security systems. Even where remedies are available, enforcing a claim that a party or our trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is . Courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Additionally, our efforts to protect our proprietary technology, our trade secrets could otherwise become known or be independently discovered by our competitors. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate, from using that technology or information to compete with us.
The patent position of our IMSR Plant and its key components is not a guarantee of protection or rights. During the patent prosecution process, a patent office may require us or our licensors to narrow the scope of the claims of our or our licensors’ pending and future patent applications. This may limit the scope of patent protection and our or our licensors’ ability to assert patent infringement if the patent is subsequently issued. In some cases, a patent may not issue if we or our licensors are unable to overcome rejections from a patent office. By pursuing patent rights by filing a patent, we or our licensors may lose trade secrets that would have otherwise been protected had a patent not been sought and third parties may be able to exploit such published information in our patent application. Additionally, even if we obtain a patent in one jurisdiction ( e . g ., the United States), we cannot guarantee that we will obtain a corresponding patent in another jurisdiction ( e . g ., China) as patent laws differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Additionally, maintaining and enforcing patent rights can involve complex legal and factual and may be subject to in some cases. For example, third parties may the validity of our or our licensors’ patents based on prior art at a tribunal such as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in a federal court. Because we cannot that all of the potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, third parties may prevail in a patent or a patent application from being issued as a patent. If we or our licensors are to maintain valid patents or prevail in patent instituted by third parties, we or our licensors may still bear the risk of third parties “designing around” our technologies to avoid an intellectual property claim.
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Our patent applications may not result in issued patents, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to ours. The status of patents involves complex legal and factual questions, and the breadth of claims allowed is uncertain. As a result, we cannot be certain that the patent applications that we file will result in patents being issued, or that our patents and any patents that may be issued to us will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. Numerous patents, published pending patent applications and unpublished pending patent applications owned by others exist in the fields in which we have developed and are developing our technology. In addition to the risk of infringing those patents, those patents and patent applications owned by others may also be used as a basis to invalidate our patents or prevent our patent applications from issuing as patents. Our patents may also be challenged as invalid under other prior art and/or be as unenforceable. Furthermore, patent applications filed in foreign countries are subject to laws, rules and procedures that differ from those of the United States, and thus we cannot be certain that foreign patent applications related to issued U.S. patents will be issued.
Even if our patent applications succeed and we are issued patents in accordance with those applications, it is still uncertain whether these patents will be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope in the future. The rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with meaningful protection or competitive advantages, and some foreign countries provide significantly less effective patent enforcement than in the United States. In addition, the claims of any patents that issue from our patent applications may not be broad enough to prevent others from developing technologies that are similar or that achieve results similar to ours. The intellectual property rights of others could also bar us from licensing and exploiting any patents that issue from our pending patent applications. From time to time, we may develop technology with funding from the United States Department of Energy. Inventions conceived or first actually reduced to practice under agreements with the Department of Energy (“ subject ”) grant the U.S. Government certain rights and impose specific obligations on our ability to practice and license these . The U.S. Government also has march-in rights, although it has never exercised such rights, to require us to license a patent on subject on reasonable terms under very limited circumstances. In addition, patents issued to us could be or designed around by others and others may obtain patents that we need to license or design around, either of which would increase costs and may affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operation results.
We currently enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain issued patents and trademarks and may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our business and competitive position may be harmed.
We do not have worldwide patent rights for our IMSR Plant and related proprietary technologies because there is no such thing as worldwide or “international patent rights.” We also do not have worldwide trademark protection for our brand for similar reasons. Accordingly, we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights in certain jurisdictions and their legal systems. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on our IMSR Plant worldwide can pose several challenges. First, procuring patent rights in multiple jurisdictions may be cost prohibitive because individual patent offices in different jurisdictions will have to independently examine each patent application. Therefore, costs such as examination fees, translation fees and attorneys’ fees are considered when deciding whether to pursue patent protections in a given jurisdiction. Once a patent is registered, we or our licensors will also have the continued obligation of paying maintenance fees periodically to avoid patents from becoming abandoned or lapsed. Second, the breadth of claims in patents may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For instance, certain patent offices may require narrower claims, resulting in patent rights that are less extensive. Further, as noted above, we may not be to obtain patents in some jurisdictions even if we obtain patents in other jurisdictions. Accordingly, our competitors may operate in countries where we do not have patent protection and can freely use our technologies and discoveries in such countries to the extent such technologies and discoveries are publicly known or in countries where we do have patent protection or pending patent applications.
Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. Many countries also limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.
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We may need to defend ourselves against intellectual property infringement claims, which may be time-consuming and could cause us to incur substantial fees and costs.
Companies, organizations or individuals, including our existing and future competitors, may hold or obtain patents, trademarks/service marks or other intellectual property rights that would prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to develop our intellectual property and make, use, develop, import, offer to sell or sell our IMSR Plants and its related proprietary technologies, which could make it more difficult for us to operate the Company. From time to time, we may receive inquiries from holders of patents or trademarks/service marks inquiring whether we are infringing their proprietary rights and/or seek court declarations that they do not infringe our intellectual property rights. Companies holding patents or other intellectual property rights similar to our technology may bring proceedings alleging infringement of such rights or otherwise asserting their rights and seeking licenses. In addition, if we are determined to have infringed a third party’s intellectual property rights, we may be required to do among other things, one or more of the following: (i) cease selling, incorporating or using IMSR Plants that incorporate the intellectual property; (ii) pay substantial ; (iii) pay for and obtain a license from the holder of the intellectual property right, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all; or (iv) redesign part or all of our technology. In the event of a claim of us and our or to obtain a license to the technology, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially affected. In addition, any or , whether or not valid, could result in substantial costs and of resources and management’s focus and attention.
We also anticipate licensing patents and other intellectual property from third parties, and we may face claims that the use of this intellectual property infringes the rights of other third parties. In such cases, we may seek indemnification from the licensors under our license contracts with those licensors or other damages. However, our rights to indemnification or damages may be unavailable or insufficient to cover our costs and losses, depending on our use of the technology, whether we choose to retain control over conduct of the litigation, and other factors.
We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our IMSR Plants.
We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses, including the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete or thorough because there may be hundreds of thousands of relevant patents worldwide. We also cannot be certain that we have identified each and every third-party patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our IMSR Plants in any jurisdiction. The scope of a patent claim is generally determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent, and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect or not accepted by a court of competent jurisdiction. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect or inaccurate. Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our IMSR Plants.
There are several circumstances under which a patent application may not be published and accessible to us or our licensors. For example, patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, but some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued. Publications in the scientific literature also often lag behind actual discoveries. Therefore, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our issued patents or our pending applications, or that we were the first to invent the technology or to file a patent application covering the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our IMSR Plants or technology similar to ours without us knowing. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications or patents, which could require us to procure rights to issued patents covering such technologies in order to avoid infringement claims.
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Customization and hybridization of the Thermal and Electric Facility may require additional research and development and/or reliance on external service providers.
We believe the IMSR Thermal and Electric Facility can be customized by the adaption of existing industrial technologies although we cannot provide assurance that will be the case. Should this not be the case, customization and hybridization of the Thermal and Electric Facility for specific applications may require extensive research and development programs and/or the development of new technologies. We have little experience of customization of the IMSR Thermal and Electric Facility and its hybridization with other energy systems and may rely on others to provide these services. As such, the timeline and cost of commercializing customized IMSR Plants will be longer than we currently anticipate.
We may be subject to claims of ownership and other rights to our patents and other intellectual property by third parties.
Our confidentiality and intellectual property assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, and contractors generally provide that inventions conceived by the party in the course of rendering services to us will be our exclusive intellectual property and are required to be assigned to us if necessary. While we require our employees, consultants, and contractors to assign such intellectual property to us in the event that the intellectual property is not automatically assigned ( e . g ., as work made for hire), those agreements may not be honored and obligations to assign intellectual property may be challenged or breached. Moreover, there may be some circumstances, where we are unable to negotiate for such ownership rights and others misappropriate those rights in the process.
We may be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as an owner, a joint owner, a licensee, an inventor, or a co-inventor. In the latter two cases, the failure to name the proper inventors on a patent application can result in the patents issuing thereon being unenforceable. Inventorship disputes may arise from conflicting views regarding the contributions of different individuals named as inventors, the effects of foreign laws where foreign nationals are involved in the development of the subject matter of the patent, conflicting obligations of third parties involved in developing our patented technology or as a result of questions regarding co-ownership of potential joint inventions. Litigation may be necessary to these and other inventorship and ownership. Alternatively, or additionally, we may enter into agreements to clarify the scope of our rights in such intellectual property. If we in any such , in addition to paying monetary , we may ownership of, or right to use or license intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material effect on our business. Even if we are in such , could result in substantial costs and be a to management and other employees.
Some of our management team have limited experience in operating a public company.
While several of our board members have experience as directors of publicly traded companies, some of our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage its transition to a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under federal securities laws. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities, which will result in less time being devoted to our management and growth. We may need to add additional personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience, and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal controls over financial reporting to maintain what is required of public companies in the United States. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to maintain the level of accounting standards required of a public company in the United States may require costs greater than expected. We could be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations as a public company, which will increase our operating costs in future periods.
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Compliance with the reporting obligations under the United States securities laws and Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley requires expenditures of capital and other resources and may divert management’s attention. If we fail to comply with these reporting obligations or to maintain adequate internal controls our operations, and investors’ confidence in us, could be materially and adversely affected.
We are required to comply with the periodic reporting obligations of the Exchange Act, Sarbanes-Oxley and other applicable securities rules and regulations, including the preparation of annual reports, quarterly reports, and current reports. Complying with these rules and regulations could cause us to incur additional legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly. Further, by complying with public disclosure requirements, our business and financial condition are more visible, which may result in increased threatened or actual litigation.
Management may not be able to effectively and timely implement controls and procedures that adequately respond to the increased regulatory compliance and reporting requirements that will be applicable after the Business Combination. If management is unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting, or to certify the effectiveness of such controls, and our independent registered public accounting firm cannot render an unqualified opinion on management’s assessment and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at such time as it is required to do so, and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting are identified, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, a loss of public and investor confidence, and to litigation from investors and stockholders, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our stock price. In addition, if we do not maintain adequate financial and management personnel, processes and controls, we may not be to manage our business effectively or accurately report our financial performance on a timely basis, which could cause a in our common stock price and affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could potentially subject us to sanctions or by the SEC, the exchange upon which our securities are listed or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.
If we fail to timely meet our reporting obligations under the Exchange Act, Sarbanes-Oxley and other applicable securities rules and regulations in their entirety, we could be subject to penalties under federal securities laws and regulations of the Nasdaq and face lawsuits, and we will not be able to obtain independent accountant certifications required for public companies under Sarbanes-Oxley.
Risks Related to Compliance with Law, Government Regulation and Litigation
Our business may be subject to the policies, priorities, regulations, mandates and funding levels of governmental entities and may be negatively or positively impacted by any change thereto.
From time to time, we may be subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations relating to various aspects of our business, including with respect to use and possession of radioactive materials; design, manufacture, operations, marketing and export of nuclear technologies; employment and labor; tax; data security of the operational and information technology we use; health and safety; zoning and environmental issues. Laws and regulations at the foreign, federal, state and local levels frequently change and are often interpreted in different ways, especially in relation to new and emerging industries, and we cannot always reasonably predict the impact from, or the ultimate cost of compliance with, current or future regulatory or administrative changes. While we monitor these developments and devote a significant amount of management’s time and external resources towards compliance with these laws, regulations and guidelines, we cannot guarantee that these measures will be satisfactory to regulators or other third parties, such as our customers, who are also subject to extensive governmental regulation. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention. Moreover, changes in law, the imposition of new or additional regulations or the enactment of any new or more stringent legislation that impacts our business could require us to change the way we operate and could have a material effect on our sales, , cash flows, financial condition, and lead to regulatory that could impact our ability to obtain licenses, certificates, authorizations, permits, approvals, and/or certifications from regulatory agencies (collectively referred to herein as “regulatory approvals”).
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Failure to comply with these laws may result in civil penalties or private lawsuits, or the suspension or revocation of those regulatory approvals, which would prevent us from operating our business. With respect to our IMSR Plants, we and our customers require regulatory approval from the USNRC or other relevant regulators to construct and operate the IMSR Plants, and any additional local and state permitting requirements, as needed, including with respect to nuclear safety, environmental, and financial qualification, among other requirements. Similar regulatory approvals apply to Terrestrial Energy’s ability to develop the manufacturing capacity to supply IMSR Core-units and IMSR Fuel Salt to its customers. Our plans to deploy IMSR Plants rely on timely receipt of such regulatory approvals in the jurisdictions in which we seek to do business. Such regulatory approval processes may be subject to change, can be technically challenging to address, may result in the imposition of conditions that impact the financial viability of our IMSR Plants, and may also provide opportunities for third parties to lodge objections or seek more stringent requirements for our IMSR Plants. to comply with these laws, obtain the required regulatory approvals, or receive exemptions from such regulations when available could result in regulatory enforcement, , , , or the to operate our business. Any in regulatory approvals could also affect our and our project partners’ ability to meet construction and operation timelines and thereby affect our financial performance.
The U.S. government’s budget deficit and the national debt, as well as any inability of the U.S. government to complete its budget or appropriations process for any government fiscal year could have an adverse impact on our or our customers’ business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The U.S. government’s budget deficit and the national debt, along with any negotiated resolution to increase or suspend the so-called debt ceiling, as well as any inability of the U.S. government to complete its budget process for any government fiscal year and consequently having to shut down or operate on funding levels equivalent to its prior fiscal year pursuant to a “continuing resolution,” could have an adverse direct or indirect impact on our or our customers’ business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Considerable uncertainty exists regarding how future budget and program decisions will unfold, including the energy spending priorities of the U.S. government, what challenges budget reductions will present for the energy industry and whether annual appropriations bills for all agencies will be enacted by the U.S. government in a given fiscal year and thereafter due to many factors, including but not limited to, changes in the political environment, including before or after a change to the leadership within the government administration, and any resulting uncertainty or changes in policy or priorities and resultant funding. The U.S. government’s budget deficit and the national debt could have an adverse impact on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in a number of ways, including the following:
● The U.S. government could reduce or delay its spending on, reprioritize its spending away from, or decline to provide funding for the government programs in which we participate;
● U.S. government spending could be impacted by arrangements similar in effect to sequestration, which increases the uncertainty as to U.S. government spending priorities and levels; and
● We may experience declines in revenue, profitability and cash flows as a result of reduced or delayed demand or payments or other factors caused by economic difficulties of our customers and prospective customers, including U.S. federal, state and local governments.
These factors may become exacerbated by rising interest rates as more U.S. government spending must be appropriated to servicing the national debt or if a deal to increase or suspend the debt ceiling reduces, or blocks previously proposed increases in, government programs in which we participate. In the event we receive or benefit from significant support from state, local or non-U.S. governmental support, similar factors may impact such support as well. Furthermore, we believe continued budget pressures could have negative consequences for the nuclear energy industry and the customers, employees, suppliers, investors and communities that rely on companies in the nuclear energy industry. Budget and program decisions made in this environment would have long-term implications for us and the entire nuclear energy industry.
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We may pursue government awards involving cost-share related to our R&D work, which could be affected by our failure to comply with certain laws and regulations.
From time to time, we may pursue federal funds under grants and cooperative agreements, in which case we would be required to comply with various statutes and regulations applicable to entities that perform awards in support of government entities. We must also comply with various national policy requirements that are prescribed by statute, Executive Order, policy guidance issued by the Executive Office of the President, or other regulations. Our performance under our U.S. government awards and our compliance with the terms of those awards and applicable laws and regulations would be subject to periodic audit, review, and investigation by various agencies of the U.S. government. Compliance with these laws and regulations may affect how we do business and may impose added costs on our business. Failure to comply may also lead to civil or criminal penalties, including whole or partial suspension or termination of our U.S. government awards, and/or suspension or debarment from contracting with federal agencies.
Uncertain global macro-economic and political conditions could materially adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
Our results of operations are materially affected by economic and political conditions in the United States and internationally, including inflation, deflation, interest rates, availability of capital, energy and commodity prices, trade laws and the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions. Current or potential customers may delay or decrease spending on our products and services as their business and budgets are impacted by economic conditions. The inability of current and potential customers to pay us for our products and services may adversely affect our earnings and cash flows.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has escalated tensions between the United States, and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) allies on one hand, and Russia on the other. These developments or other tensions in the future may continue to contribute to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions for equipment, which could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial performance. Global supply chain disruptions have increasingly affected both the availability and cost of raw materials, component manufacturing, reactor fuel and deliveries. These disruptions may result in delays in equipment deliveries and cost escalations that could adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We and our suppliers are subject to stringent U.S. export and import control laws and regulations and analogous laws and regulations in other jurisdictions. Unfavorable changes in these laws and regulations or U.S. government or other relevant government licensing policies, our failure to secure timely U.S. government or other relevant government authorizations under such laws and regulations, or our failure to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our and our suppliers’ inability to secure and maintain required export or import licenses or authorizations in applicable jurisdictions could negatively impact our ability to compete successfully or develop or market our IMSR technology for commercial applications in and outside the United States. For example, if we were unable to obtain or maintain licenses to export our IMSR technology or certain hardware to a particular country, we would be effectively prohibited from exporting our IMSR technology in that country, which would limit the number of customers to those in the United States and in countries where we are able to secure licenses (or where licenses are not required). If we were unable to obtain authorization to export our technology, hardware, code or technical assistance, we would experience a limited market for our technology, which would provide a commercial advantage to international suppliers of nuclear plant technology that is competitive to ours. In these cases, these restrictions could lead to an adverse impact on our ability to sell our commercial technology. Similarly, if we were to secure export or import authorizations, we may need to implement design changes to our IMSR Plants to address issues with our supplier chain, which may increase costs or result in in delivery of new plants and subsequent additional IMSR Plants.
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Failure to comply with export control laws and regulations could expose us to civil or criminal penalties, fines, investigations, more onerous compliance requirements, loss of export privileges, debarment from government contracts or limitations on our ability to enter into contracts with the U.S. or other relevant government. Any changes in export control regulations or U.S. or other government licensing policy, such as that necessary to implement U.S. government commitments to multilateral control regimes, may restrict our operations.
We are part of the nuclear power industry, which is highly regulated. Our molten salt nuclear fuel form differs from fuel forms currently licensed and used by commercial nuclear power plants, and our IMSR technology differs from reactor technology currently in commercial operation, including with respect to potential industrial uses. As a result, the regulatory licensing and approval process for our IMSR Plants may be delayed and made more costly, and industry acceptance of our nuclear fuels may be hampered.
The nuclear power industry is highly regulated. All entities that operate nuclear power facilities, fabricate nuclear fuel and transport nuclear materials in the United States are subject to the jurisdiction of the USNRC (except for those facilities and applications separately regulated by the DOE), and entities performing the same activities in other countries are subject to regulation by the USNRC’s counterparts around the world. Our IMSR Fuel Salt differs significantly in some respects from the fuel form used today by commercial nuclear power facilities. These differences may result in a longer and more extensive review by the USNRC and its counterparts around the world, which could cause fuel development program delays and delays in commercialization. Similarly, our IMSR design differs significantly in some respects from the nuclear reactors used today at commercial nuclear power facilities. These differences could result in more prolonged and extensive review by the USNRC and its counterparts around the world that could cause reactor development program delays and delays in commercialization. Under the Atomic Energy Act and the implementing USNRC regulations, members of the public, state, or tribal governments may request a public hearing opposing the issuance of any USNRC permit or license, or portions of the license or permit application or of the USNRC’s review. Certain USNRC actions also include provision for a mandatory administrative hearing regardless of whether any are submitted in conjunction with the action. These hearing processes may or prevent the issuance of required regulatory approvals (e.g., permits or licenses) for our IMSR reactors.
While we have planned for engagements with any other nuclear regulators, such as the Office of Nuclear Regulation in the United Kingdom, to date we have only engaged with the USNRC and CNSC. Any planned international expansion will increase our exposure to U.S. export control laws as well as laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. Exports to other countries may require cooperation from the United States or other governments and may result in shortages and delays if not accomplished within assumed timelines or costs. Additionally, we may require U.S. approvals in order to import certain materials and components which may be predominantly produced outside of the United States. We must obtain governmental licenses to transport, possess, and use radioactive materials, including isotopes of uranium, in our operations. These are generally granted as part of operations licensing. Our IMSR Plant project developer and operator customers will also require licensing and approvals, from initial approval or licensing through construction and operations and into decommissioning. Failure to obtain or maintain, or delays in obtaining, such licenses could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our IMSR Fuel Salt development timeline relies on the relevant nuclear regulator to accept and approve technical information and documentation about our reactor fuel that is generated during the fuel qualification program. For example, we started our engagement with the USNRC in 2017, entering a pre-application phase of the U.S. nuclear regulatory process, which is guided by our regulator engagement plan, which we periodically update and file with the USNRC. There is a risk that regulators may require additional information regarding the fuel’s behavior or performance that necessitates additional, unplanned analytical and/or experimental work which could cause schedule delays and require more research and development funding. Similarly, our reactor development timeline relies on the relevant nuclear regulator to accept and approve technical information and documentation about our IMSR Plant design in the course of any design-specific licensing, certification, approval or similar process, or in the course of facility-specific licensing. There is a risk that regulators may require additional information regarding the IMSR Plant’s behavior or performance that necessitates additional, unplanned analytical and/or experimental work which could cause schedule delays and require more research and development funding.
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We must complete nuclear material qualifications in a manner compliant with regulatory standards and obtain regulatory approvals for the use of various materials in our IMSR design. This includes long lead-time irradiation testing and analysis, which may require redesign or use of alternative suppliers if results are unsatisfactory. Further, certain key nuclear grade materials and components, such as graphite, are only produced in limited quantity and predominantly outside of the United States. Cultivating expanded foreign or domestic U.S. supply chain manufacturing capacity for key materials and components depends on cooperation from government and supply chain partners that may result in shortages and delays if not accomplished within assumed timelines or costs. These key materials and components may also be particularly vulnerable to inflationary pressures and cost increases.
The equipment, components, and materials used in a nuclear power plant are subject to a heightened level of manufacturing and quality assurance scrutiny, in compliance with USNRC regulations, applicable codes and nuclear industry standards. Moreover, it is critical to demonstrate in facility design and development that the materials used in the facility that will be exposed to radiation will perform in accordance with necessary design parameters. The heightened manufacturing and quality assurance requirements and regulatory oversight limit the number of potential suppliers from whom we can procure many types of equipment, components, and materials used in our IMSR Plant, as well as the types of facilities where we can test certain materials. These suppliers and the key materials and essential components may be particularly vulnerable to price increases, as a result of supply and demand dynamics, inflation and other price pressures. As a result, supplier delays, unexpected performance testing results, issues in the manufacturing process or procuring necessary materials, international procurement needs, regulatory compliance issues, component qualification issues or delays, increases in costs as a result of inflation or otherwise, and geopolitical considerations can all impact our ability to perform necessary R&D, construct and deploy our IMSR Plants. This could impact our project timelines and costs, as well as affect potential customer interest in our IMSR Plant design.
The IMSR Plant design has not yet been approved or licensed for use by the USNRC or the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission at any site, and approval or licensing of these designs is not guaranteed. Further, the Company does not intend to act as the licensee, owner, or operator of IMSR Plants. Our business model is based on the supply of nuclear reactor systems, fuel, and engineering services to owner-operator customers who are responsible for securing all necessary regulatory approvals and financings. Unfavorable changes in the laws and regulations or other relevant government licensing policies applicable to our customers, or the failure of our customers to secure timely relevant government authorizations under such laws and regulations or to secure necessary financing to operate IMSR Plants, could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Terrestrial Energy has completed the CNSC Vendor Design Review process to systematically identify any fundamental barriers to licensing in the Canadian market, with no fundamental barriers to licensing identified by the CNSC. Terrestrial Energy is similarly engaged with the USNRC to address technical, policy, and programmatic matters ahead of formal application review. We started our engagement with the USNRC in 2017, entering a pre-application phase of the U.S. nuclear regulatory process guided by our regulator engagement plan. This plan anticipates that we will seek as applicant 10 C.F.R. Part 52 Standard Design Approval of the IMSR.
Notwithstanding those actions, the IMSR Plant design has not yet been licensed, certified or approved by the USNRC or the CNSC, and no currently operating USNRC- or CNSC-regulated reactor uses molten salt reactor technology. The USNRC has not advanced our status from the pre-application phase of the U.S. nuclear regulatory process. Additionally, no commercial nuclear reactor that is not water cooled is currently operating in the U.S. under an USNRC-issued license, and no advanced fission technology has been approved for commercial operation by the USNRC and, pending regulatory activity may not be finalized on timelines favorable to its commercialization schedule, or may impose requirements more onerous than anticipated.
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The USNRC has the authority to issue notices of violation for violations of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, executing the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the “Atomic Energy Act”), USNRC’s regulations and conditions of licenses, certificates of compliance, and orders. The USNRC has authority to impose civil penalties (the maximum amount of which is adjusted annually to account for inflation) or additional requirements and to order cessation of operations for violations of these requirements. Penalties under the USNRC regulations and applicable agency guidelines could include substantial fines, imposition of additional requirements, or withdrawal or suspension of licenses or certificates and criminal penalties.
If the USNRC or CNSC disagrees with our, or our customers’, licensing approach or the technical bases supporting the nuclear safety and environmental impact evaluations, the construction and operating license application processes could take longer than currently expected, or a license may not be granted at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business. Further, the USNRC or CNSC could impose conditions in a license that are not acceptable to us or our customers, which could materially and adversely affect our business. Any delays, conditions or unexpected requirements may increase costs for us or our customers and may result in uncertainty regarding the ability to deploy our technology in a predictable way, which may adversely impact our competitiveness and have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
IMSR Plant projects are expected to be financed at the project level by consortium participants, including operators, offtakers, suppliers, and third-party investors, potentially including the public sector, and those parties may be unable to raise sufficient capital, may face higher-than-expected costs of capital, or may impose conditions that delay or prevent a project from proceeding. We do not control, and may have limited visibility into, the financial condition, capital structure, or financing strategy of any particular owner-operator or project consortium. The failure of any consortium participant to fulfill its financing commitments, the withdrawal of a key participant, or the inability of the consortium to close project-level financing could result in a project being delayed, restructured, or abandoned entirely, which would in turn delay or eliminate the revenues we expect to derive from that project.
Changes in government agency budgets as well as staffing shortages at national laboratories and other government agencies may lengthen our estimated timelines for regulatory approval and construction.
Certain of our IMSR Plant’s components and materials including IMSR Fuel Salt production are dependent upon collaborations with national laboratories and/or various regulatory approvals. Government agency budgets and staffing are driven by the priorities of leadership at federal agencies as well as policy makers. Changes in government agency budgets, personnel, and any resulting staffing shortages may delay operating of our IMSR Plants, including IMSR Fuel Salt production and delay or prevent the issuance of required regulatory approvals (e.g., permits or licenses) for our nuclear facilities.
Even if the IMSR Plant is licensed in the United States or Canada, we must still obtain approvals on a country-by-country basis to deploy these reactor technologies, which approvals may be delayed or denied or which may require modification to our design.
Even if the IMSR Plant is licensed, certified and/or approved in the United States or Canada, if we are to deploy our technology in other countries, we must first obtain regulatory approvals for our technology in those countries. The regulatory framework to obtain approvals is complex, varies from country to country, and may involve authorities on a sub-national or local level. Timelines are likely to be longer for initial deployments of our technology in any jurisdiction, as regulatory agencies may not be familiar with our technology and how it differs from the technology used in legacy nuclear power facilities. Moreover, other countries’ approval processes may differ markedly from the USNRC process or the CNSC process, or they may require that we alter aspects of our design before providing approval. Denial or delay in approvals abroad could materially and adversely affect our business outside of the United States and Canada.
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There is no assurance that nuclear regulators will accept the exclusion of the Thermal and Electric Facility from the operating license requirements for the IMSR Plant.
We believe the Thermal and Electric Facility of the IMSR Plant is outside the scope of nuclear regulation based on our understanding of nuclear regulatory requirements following our completed VDR engagement with the CNSC. However, there is no assurance that a nuclear regulator will accept the exclusion of the Thermal and Electric Facility. If this is not the case, our pursuit of new markets with novel applications will be severely limited and will likely exclude the use of natural gas for initial thermal energy supply and as back-up during full operation of the IMSR Plant.
Our customers could incur substantial costs as a result of violations of, or liabilities under, environmental laws.
The operations and properties of our customers are subject to a variety of federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations governing, among other things, air emissions, wastewater discharges, management and disposal of hazardous, non-hazardous and radioactive materials and waste and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. Although our business is to design and sell our IMSR Plant design and supply key components and services, rather than to construct and own or operate power plants, we must design our IMSR Plant so it complies with such laws and regulations. Compliance with environmental requirements could require our customers to incur significant expenditures or result in significant restrictions on their operations, and the failure to comply with such laws and regulations, including failing to obtain any necessary permits, could result in substantial fines or enforcement actions, including regulatory or judicial orders enjoining or curtailing operations or requiring our customers to conduct or fund remedial or corrective measures, install pollution control equipment or perform other actions. More vigorous enforcement by regulatory agencies, the future enactment of more laws, regulations or permit requirements, including relating to climate change, or other events may arise in the future and impact the market for our products or demand for our products from our customers, which could materially and affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations governing the use, transportation, and disposal of toxic, hazardous and/or radioactive materials. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in substantial fines and/or enforcement actions.
With respect to our component manufacturing and fuel supply both in the United States and abroad, our operations will be subject to a variety of federal, state, local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations governing, among other things, air emissions, wastewater discharges, management and disposal of hazardous, non-hazardous, and radioactive materials and waste and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. Additionally, we are responsible for decommissioning of facilities where we conduct, or previously conducted, commercial, USNRC-licensed, operations.
We may be liable if we fail to comply with federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Failing to comply with such laws and regulations, including failing to obtain any necessary permits, could result in substantial fines or enforcement actions. This might require us to stop or curtail operations or conduct or fund remedial or corrective measures, make additional investments into safety-related improvements or perform other actions. The enactment of more stringent laws, regulations or permit requirements or other unanticipated events may arise in the future and adversely impact the market for our products, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We could incur substantial costs as a result of a violation of, or liabilities under, environmental laws.
Changes in tax laws could adversely affect our business prospects and financial results.
We will be subject to taxes in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions, including the United States, may be subject to change. Our future effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in tax laws or their interpretation. We may be subject to income tax audits by various tax jurisdictions. An adverse resolution by one or more taxing authorities could have a material impact on our finances. Further, we may be unable to utilize any net operating losses in the event a change in control is determined to have occurred.
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We may become involved in litigation that may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we may become involved in various legal proceedings relating to matters incidental to the ordinary course of our business, including intellectual property, commercial, product liability, employment, class action, whistleblower and other litigation and claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources from the operation of our business and cause us to incur significant expenses or liability or require us to change our business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses and uncertainties of litigation, from time to time, we may settle disputes, even where we believe that we have meritorious claims or defenses. We are currently not a party to any material litigation. However, if any legitimate cause of action arose which was successfully prosecuted against us, the operations, results of operations or financial condition of the Company could be affected. Because is inherently , we cannot you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material effect on our business.
Risks Related to Capital Resources
In order to fulfill our business plan, we will require additional funding. To the extent we require such additional investor funding in the future, such funding may be dilutive to our investors and no assurances can be provided as to terms of any such funding. Any such funding and the associated terms will be highly dependent upon market conditions and the progress of our business at the time we seek such funding. The terms of any financing that we pursue may be less favorable than previously anticipated and could become even less favorable depending on the amount of funds we may require.
Our business plan is capital intensive. We cannot be certain when or if our operations will generate sufficient cash to fully fund our ongoing operations or the growth of our business. We intend to continue to make investments to support our business, and expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations, including commercialization efforts, expanded research and development activities and costs associated with operating a public company.. To raise capital, we may enter into financing arrangements that may be costly or impose certain restrictive covenants or otherwise restrict our ability to seek additional leverage or financing. We may also seek to sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to the holders of our common stock. Pursuant to the Terrestrial Energy Incentive Plan, which will become effective upon the Closing, our board is authorized to grant compensatory equity awards to our employees, directors and consultants. If the number of shares reserved under our Terrestrial Energy Incentive Plan is increased pursuant to the terms of the Terrestrial Energy Incentive Plan, our stockholders may experience additional dilution, which could cause our stock price to fall. Any of the above events could significantly our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations and cause the price of our common stock to .
Our corporate expenditures, including our corporate level outspend, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.
Our current and future operating expenses are uncertain and impacted by various factors outside of our control, including rising costs and other impacts of inflation, evolving regulatory requirements, raw material availability, global conflicts, global supply chain challenges and component manufacturing and testing uncertainties, among other factors. Accordingly, it is possible that our overall expenses and related outspend could be higher than the levels we currently estimate, and any increases could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We may experience an adverse impact from inflation and rising costs.
Over the last several years, inflation has increased to its highest level in decades. Inflation has resulted in, and may continue to result in, higher interest rates and capital costs, higher shipping costs, higher material costs, supply shortages, increased costs of labor and other similar effects. Although the impact of material cost, labor, or other inflationary or economically driven factors will impact the entire nuclear and energy transition industry (including renewable sources of electricity, like solar and wind), the relative impact may not be the same across the industry, and the particular effects within the industry will depend on a number of factors, including material use, design, structure of supply agreements, project management and others, which could result in significant changes to the competitiveness of our technology and our ability to sell IMSR Plants, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, higher interest rates can have significant impact on the total cost on long-term development and constructions projects such as power plants. Accordingly, higher interest rates may make it more difficult to obtain contracts and customers for the IMSR Plant.
We have a history of financial losses and may not achieve profitability in the future. We will need substantial additional capital to complete the design of the IMSR Plant and fund our operations.
We expect our operating expenses to increase over the next several years and expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue to expand and develop, and we will need additional capital from external sources, regardless of redemption levels. If we are unable to raise additional capital we will have to make significant adjustments to our business plan which could impact some of our strategic objectives and significantly delay, scale back or discontinue one or more or all of our research and development programs. We may be required to cease operations or seek partners for our technologies at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable and on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available. In the absence of additional capital, we may also be required to relinquish, license or otherwise dispose of rights to technologies or products that we would otherwise seek to develop or commercialize on terms that are less than might otherwise be available. If we are to secure additional capital, we may be required to take additional measures to reduce costs in order to conserve our cash in amounts sufficient to sustain operations and meet our obligations. These measures could have a material effect on our business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Future indebtedness could expose us to risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In the future, we may incur indebtedness. Such indebtedness could have significant negative consequences for our security holders, business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:
● increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
● limiting our ability to obtain additional financing;
● requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness, which will reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes;
● limiting our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business; and
● placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with competitors that are less leveraged than us or have better access to capital.
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Should we incur additional indebtedness in the future, our business may not generate sufficient funds, and we may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay any additional indebtedness that we may incur. Any future indebtedness that we may incur may contain financial and other restrictive covenants that will limit our ability to operate our business, raise capital or make payments under our indebtedness. If we fail to comply with such covenants or to make payments under any of our indebtedness when due, then we would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in that indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full and cross-default or cross-acceleration under our other indebtedness and other liabilities.
Our actual operating results may differ significantly from any guidance we may provide.
From time to time, we may release guidance in our quarterly earnings releases, quarterly earnings conference calls, or otherwise once we are a public company, regarding our future performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of release. This guidance, which would include forward-looking statements, would be based on projections prepared by our management. Should we provide projections, we do not expect that they would be prepared with a view toward compliance with published guidelines of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and neither our registered public accountants nor any other independent expert or outside party is expected to compile or examine the projections. Accordingly, no such person currently expresses, or in the future would be expected to express, any opinion or any other form of assurance with respect to the projections.
Projections are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while presented with numerical specificity, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, such as pandemics and public health emergencies, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the effects of changes to interest rates and inflation on our cost estimates and expectations, and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, some of which will change. Any material change to the assumptions or estimates underlying the projections management may prepare, or any material overruns or other unexpected increase in costs, could have a material adverse effect on the projections and the guidance on which it is based. The rapidly evolving market in which we operate, may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and our future prospects, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. Actual results may vary from our guidance and the variations may be material. The principal reason that we may from time to time release guidance is to provide a basis for our management to discuss our business outlook as of the date of release with analysts and investors. We do not accept any responsibility for any projections or reports published by any such persons. Investors are urged not to rely upon our guidance in making an investment decision regarding our common stock.
Any failure to successfully implement our operating strategy or the occurrence of any of the events or circumstances set forth in this “ Risk Factors ” section could result in our actual operating results being different from our guidance, and the differences may be adverse and material.
Our financial results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter.
We expect our revenue and operating results to vary from quarter to quarter. We may incur significant operating expenses during the start-up and early stages of large contracts and may not be able to recognize corresponding revenue in that same quarter. We may also incur additional expenses when contracts are terminated or expire and are not renewed. We may also incur additional expenses when companies are newly acquired.
Additional factors that may cause our financial results to fluctuate from quarter to quarter include those addressed elsewhere in this “ Risk Factors ” section and the following factors, among others:
● the terms of customer contracts that affect the timing of revenue recognition;
● variability in demand for our services and solutions;
● commencement, completion or termination of contracts during any particular quarter;
● timing of shipments and product deliveries;
● timing of significant bid and proposal costs;
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● the costs of remediating unknown defects, errors or performance problems of our product offerings;
● restrictions on and delays related to the export of nuclear articles and services;
● costs related to government inquiries;
● strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs and joint ventures;
● strategic investments or changes in business strategy;
● changes in the extent to which we use subcontractors;
● changes in our effective tax rate, including changes in our judgment as to the necessity of the valuation allowance recorded against our deferred tax assets; and
● the length of sales cycles.
Changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions could negatively affect the reporting of our financial position and results of operations.
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These accounting principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. We are also required to make certain judgments that affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each reporting period. We periodically evaluate our estimates and assumptions including, but not limited to, those relating to business acquisitions, revenue recognition, recoverability of assets including customer receivables, contingencies, valuation of financial instruments, stock-based compensation
and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable based on specific circumstances. These assumptions and estimates involve the exercise of judgment and discretion, which may evolve over time in light of operational experience, regulatory direction, developments in accounting principles and other factors. Actual results could differ from these estimates as a result of changes in circumstances, assumptions, policies or developments in the business, which could materially affect our consolidated financial statements.
Risks Related to our Securities
We incur additional costs as a public company that reports to the SEC and our management is required to devote substantial time to meet compliance obligations.
Requirements associated with being a public company in the United States require significant resources and management attention. We are subject to certain reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and the other rules and regulations of the SEC, and Nasdaq. We are also subject to various other regulatory requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These rules and regulations increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, which could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. In addition, complying with rules and regulations and the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies requires substantial attention from our senior management, which could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business. These cost increases and the diversion of management’s attention could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We will also need to hire additional personnel to support our financial reporting function and may face in doing so.
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The market price of Terrestrial Energy’s securities may decline.
Fluctuations in the price of our common stock could contribute to the loss of all or part of your investment. The trading price of our common stock could be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond Terrestrial Energy’s control. Inflationary pressures, increases in interest rates and other adverse economic and market forces may contribute to potential downward pressures in market value of our common stock. Additionally, any of the risk factors discussed in this annual report could have a material adverse effect on your investment and our common stock may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of our common stock may not recover and may experience a further decline.
Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common stock irrespective of Terrestrial Energy’s operating performance. The stock market in general, and Nasdaq specifically, has experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your securities at or above the price at which they were acquired. A loss of investor confidence in the market for the stocks of other companies which investors perceive to be similar to Terrestrial Energy could depress Terrestrial Energy’s share price regardless of Terrestrial Energy’s business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. A decline in the market price of Terrestrial Energy’s securities also could adversely affect Terrestrial Energy’s ability to issue additional securities and Terrestrial Energy’s ability to obtain additional financing in the future.
There is no guarantee that our warrants will ever be in the money, and they may expire worthless.
The average exercise price for our warrants is $8.24 per share of common stock, subject to adjustment. There is no guarantee that the warrants will ever be in the money prior to their expiration, and as such, the warrants may expire worthless.
Your unexpired public warrants may be redeemed prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your public warrants worthless.
Our outstanding publicly traded warrants (Nasdaq: IMSRW) (the “Public Warrants”) may be redeemed at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any twenty (20) trading days within a thirty (30) trading-day period ending on the third (3 rd ) trading day prior to the date Terrestrial Energy sends the notice of redemption to the Public Warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by Terrestrial Energy, Terrestrial Energy may not exercise its redemption rights if the issuance of common stock upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or Terrestrial Energy is unable to effect such registration or qualification, subject to Terrestrial Energy’s obligation in such case to use its best efforts to register or qualify the common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the Public Warrants were initially offered in our IPO. Redemption of the outstanding Public Warrants could force you (a) to exercise your Public Warrants and pay the exercise price at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (b) to sell your Public Warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your Public Warrants or (c) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding Public Warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your Public Warrants.
The Warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of the Terrestrial Common Shares.
Terrestrial has outstanding warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 30,267,119 shares of our common stock. Such Warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares and may reduce the market price of our common stock. The common stock issuable upon such exercises may represent overhang that may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Overhang occurs when there is a greater supply of a company’s stock in the market than there is demand for that stock. When this happens the price of our stock could decrease, and any additional shares which stockholders attempt to sell in the market may only further decrease the share price. If the share volume of our common stock cannot absorb shares sold by holders of our outstanding convertible securities, then the value of our common stock will likely decrease.
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The Certificate of Incorporation provides, subject to limited exceptions, that the courts of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.
The Certificate of Incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if that court does not have jurisdiction, a state court located within the State of Delaware or the federal district court for the District of Delaware. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in the Certificate of Incorporation. In addition, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that this choice of forum does not apply to any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Finally, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
While the Delaware Supreme Court has upheld provisions of the certificates of incorporation of other Delaware corporations that are similar to the exclusive forum provision in the Certificate of Incorporation, there is uncertainty as to whether courts will enforce the exclusive forum provision in the Certificate of Incorporation. In that regard, Section 22 of the Securities Act provides that federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over lawsuits brought under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. To the extent the exclusive federal forum provision for causes of action arising under the Securities Act restricts the courts in which claims arising under the Securities Act may be brought, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a provision. Shareholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in the Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
A significant portion of our total outstanding shares of common stock are restricted from immediate resale but may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of common stock could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock.
We are party to certain agreements that provide registration rights to the counterparties.
As restrictions on resale end, including lock-up restrictions applicable to approximately 46,761,682 shares of our common stock that end between March 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 depending on the trading price of our common stock, and the registration statement is available for use, the market price of our common stock could decline if the holders of currently restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
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As an “emerging growth company,” we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to “emerging growth companies” will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
As an “emerging growth company,” we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies, including not being required to obtain an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting from our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, which we have elected to do.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active market for our common stock, our share price may be more volatile and the price at which our securities trade could be less than if we did not use these exemptions.
