April 12, 2006

Ceramic Tubular Products, LLC announced the start of a 3-month in-reactor test of its duplex silicon carbide fuel cladding at the MITR test reactor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The test will expose the product to neutron fluences, temperatures, pressures, and water chemistry prototypical of commercial pressurized water reactors. Plans are underway to extend the test for an additional 9 months after interim examination of the samples. Later testing of fueled samples in other test reactor(s) is also planned.

March 31, 2006

Ceramic Tubular Products, LLC has demonstrated that duplex silicon carbide cladding can be fabricated in dimensions that are prototypical of zinc alloy fuel cladding. Samples have been made that closely match the dimensions of standard "15x15" fuel cladding with an inside diameter of ~.350" and a wall thickness of only .030". Preliminary testing shows that the cladding is capable of holding internal pressures up to 9000 psi and fails in a graceful manner to strains on the order of 10%. Development is planned to produce dimensions consistent with "17x17" fuel element cladding dimensions of ~.320"ID x .025" wall thickness.

January 17, 2006

Gamma Engineering of Rockville, Maryland, and Innovative Technologies International (NovaTech) of Lynchburg, Virginia, announced the formation of a joint venture company, Ceramic Tubular Products, LLC (CTP) to focus on the development and commercialization of ceramic cladding for existing and future nuclear reactors.

CTP is a Maryland corporation headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and has its primary operations center in Lynchburg, Virginia.