Hadron Energy Announces NRC Acceptance of Quality Assurance Program Description for Future Manufacturing License Applications, a First for a Light-Water Microreactor

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 4, 2026--

Hadron Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: HDRN) ("Hadron Energy" or the "Company"), an advanced nuclear technology company, today announced that the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final safety evaluation finding Revision 3 of the Company's Topical Report (TR), "Hadron Energy, Inc. Quality Assurance Program Description" (QAPD), acceptable for referencing in its future licensing applications under 10 CFR Part 52.

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The NRC staff's final safety evaluation concludes that Hadron Energy's QAPD complies with applicable NRC regulations and industry standards in support of a future 10 CFR Part 52 application. The acceptance establishes a vetted quality assurance framework spanning the full life cycle of the Hadron Micro-Modular Reactor — including design, manufacturing, construction, operations, and decommissioning — and reflects Hadron Energy's integrated role as designer, manufacturer, and owner-operator.

While it is not a license to construct or operate a reactor, and it does not constitute NRC review, approval, or certification of the Hadron Micro-Modular Reactor design, the NRC’s acceptance of the Topical Report is a foundational, programmatic regulatory milestone. Furthermore, Hadron Energy is the first light-water microreactor company to receive acceptance by the NRC of QAPD.

A rigorous quality assurance program is foundational to the safe and reliable deployment of nuclear technology. By establishing an NRC-vetted quality framework at the pre-application stage, Hadron Energy is instituting the disciplined design, manufacturing, construction, and operational controls that underpin nuclear safety from the outset. The QAPD applies a graded, lifecycle-wide approach in which the level of control for any item or activity is commensurate with its safety significance, reinforcing Hadron Energy's commitment to building and operating its reactors to rigorous, independently reviewed industry quality standards, including ASME NQA-1-2022.

"The NRC staff's acceptance of our Quality Assurance Program Description is a critical milestone for Hadron Energy and the development of our Micro-Modular Reactor," said Sam Gibson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hadron Energy. "A quality assurance program that the NRC staff finds acceptable provides a vetted foundation that we can reference as we advance our licensing strategy, helping reduce duplicative review of previously accepted material in future applications, and most importantly provide the confidence to the company’s conceptual reactor design framework as we move toward the first of a kind deployment.”

Standardizing Future Licensing Pathways

Hadron Energy’s QAPD addresses the full lifecycle of the Hadron Micro-Modular Reactor. The program is based on Appendix B to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50 and commits to nuclear industry quality standards, including ASME NQA-1-2022, as endorsed by NRC Regulatory Guide 1.28, Revision 6.

Consistent with standard NRC practice, the NRC staff has requested that Hadron Energy publish the accepted version of the Topical Report within three months of its receipt of the NRC's notification, which Hadron Energy will do. This publicly accessible version will incorporate the NRC's correspondence and final safety evaluation and will carry the official "-A" (designated accepted) suffix following the report identification number.

With the QAPD accepted by the NRC staff, Hadron Energy may cite the accepted program in subsequent licensing applications under 10 CFR Part 52, including a Combined License (COL) or a Manufacturing License, to the extent specified and subject to the limitations and conditions in the safety evaluation. Referencing previously accepted material is intended to avoid repetitive NRC review of that material in future applications.

About Hadron Energy, Inc.

Hadron Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: HDRN) is an advanced nuclear technology company focused on developing the Halo Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR), a 10 megawatt-electric (MWe) factory-manufactured, transportable light-water reactor. Engineered to deliver continuous, emission-free baseload power and heat with a multi-year refueling cycle, Hadron Energy aims to meet the growing demand for clean, scalable, and rapidly deployable energy solutions. As an integrated designer, manufacturer, and owner-operator, the Company is dedicated to powering a variety of critical sectors, including data centers, industrial facilities and heavy manufacturing, remote communities, and grid stabilization. For more information, visit www.hadronenergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Hadron Energy’s regulatory filings with the NRC, its path to approval of its license application, the design of Hadron Micro-Modular Reactor, and the expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business combination. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the management of Hadron Energy in light of their respective experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Hadron Energy will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including the ability of Hadron Energy to continue to meet the Nasdaq listing standards, and that Hadron Energy will have sufficient capital to operate as anticipated. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Hadron Energy Announces NRC Acceptance of Quality Assurance Program Description for Future Manufacturing License Applications, a First for a Light-Water Microreactor

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates will expand her giving to improve women’s health globally, pledging another $215 million to support contraceptive access and maternal care, as well as initiatives aimed at middle-aged women, including further study of menopause.

The new funding announced Thursday pushes French Gates’ donations for women’s health over $600 million in the past two years.

French Gates told The Associated Press in an interview that women’s health is the cornerstone of the work she does through Pivotal, the group of organizations she founded to handle her philanthropy and investments. “It’s just blaringly obvious that women’s health is fundamental — she has to be well to do well in life,” French Gates said.

Since 2024, when she stepped away from The Gates Foundation, which she founded with her now ex-husband Bill Gates and built into one of the world’s largest private funders of health care, French Gates has honed her approach to supporting women.

This latest round of funding reflects an increasingly strategic approach to areas she feels are underfunded. It includes a $40 million donation to Co-Impact for an initiative that embeds mental health support into maternal and primary care, especially in Africa. And French Gates hopes her $10 million donation to the Menopause Society to improve menopause care in the United States, by educating healthcare practitioners and expanding outreach in areas where care is limited, will encourage other funders to begin working on the issue.

According to the World Economic Forum, even though women make up half the population, the health issues that specifically affect them only get 2% of private healthcare funds. The lack of funding has resulted in a lack of products and services dedicated to treating them.

“The role of philanthropy, in my opinion, is to look at some of these societal problems that have been left behind, and shine light on them, show ways of making progress so you can then crowd in other donors and ultimately crowd in government funding,” she said. “Part of what I’m doing here, I hope, is sending a signal to say, ‘This is really important. Let’s do something about it.’ And my hope is that I’ll be able to get others who will join me.”

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director of The Menopause Society and director of The Mayo Clinic’s Center for Women’s Health, said the United States currently has about 6,000 counties where patients have critically low access to menopause-competent clinicians. She said the donation will allow The Menopause Society to offer its educational resources to more areas of the country that need them.

“Menopause remains one of the most overlooked and underserved areas in medicine, and The Menopause Society believes women deserve better,” Faubion said. “We’re ready to make those changes with the support of donors like Pivotal.”

Research into menopause treatments was already underfunded, even before recent medical research cuts made by President Donald Trump’s administration went into effect.

“I think philanthropy is going to fill a greater role than it ever has in the past because we are just not going to have the same type of government funding that we’ve had before,” she said. “Funding is hard to come by these days – much, much harder than it was before. And the need hasn’t gone away. We still have to do the research somehow.”

Faubion said the substantial size of French Gates’ gift is important, but the attention it brings may be even more crucial.

“It shows that somebody like Melinda Gates and Pivotal feel that this is an important issue,” Faubion said. “It will illuminate the gaps that are still there… and it makes people not only aware, but maybe motivated to take some action.”

For French Gates, bringing more attention to these women’s issues is nearly as important as increasing the funding for them.

“I want women’s health issues to not be invisible,” she said. “I don’t want the default to be that women are expected to deal with pain and suffering. I want them to be seen for what they’re going through, their real life experiences, and have those issues addressed so they can live their very best lives."

The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage of women in the workforce and in statehouses from Melinda French Gates’ organization, Pivotal.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

FILE - Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, poses for photographers as she arrives for a meeting after a meeting on the sideline of the gender equality conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, July 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)