RESTON, Va. and HAMILTON, Ontario, March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightbridge Corporation ("Lightbridge" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, and Stern Laboratories Inc. ("Stern Labs"), a leading employee-owned Canadian provider of specialized nuclear experimental services and tooling to the nuclear industry, today announced that Lightbridge has entered into an initial engineering contract and statement of work with Stern Labs to assess the thermal and hydraulic ("TH") performance of Lightbridge Fuel for use in Light Water Reactors ("LWRs").

Under the terms of the agreement, Stern Labs will provide laboratory services at its test facility in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to assess the TH performance of Lightbridge Fuel for LWRs.

The work will be carried out in multiple phases, including:

Phase 1: Design and fabrication of an electrically heated fuel simulator; acceptance testing; and single-rod critical heat flux (CHF) investigation (steam-water, up to 1,450 psia);
Phase 2: Nine-rod critical heat flux investigation, steam-water at 600 to 2200 psia; and
Phase 3: A multi-year TH test program to support the licensing of Lightbridge Fuel for the U.S. domestic LWR fleet.

Phase 1 is estimated to take approximately one year to complete.

Birol Aktas, Manager of the Thermal Hydraulics and Safety Analysis Group at Lightbridge, stated, "This contract with Stern Labs represents a significant step forward in our fuel qualification program. Stern Labs' expertise in manufacturing electrically heated nuclear fuel simulators and performing full-scale CHF and component qualification tests makes them an ideal partner. Data from this program will demonstrate the improved thermal margins of Lightbridge Fuel in LWRs and support U.S. licensing for commercial deployment."

Gordon Hadaller, President of Stern Laboratories Inc., stated, "We are pleased to partner with Lightbridge on this important experimental program. Stern Labs has a long history of providing high-quality laboratory services to the global nuclear industry, and we look forward to applying our expertise to assess the performance of Lightbridge's innovative fuel technology."

About Stern Laboratories Inc.

Stern Laboratories Inc. is an employee-owned private Canadian company, established in 1988 and headquartered at 1590 Burlington Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Stern Labs provides custom fuel simulations, conducts advanced reliability and safety experiments, and designs and fabricates fuel inspection tooling for nuclear industry partners globally. The reliability and safety experiments include component qualification, TH experiments, and various safety scenario simulations. For more information, please visit: https://sternlab.com.

About Lightbridge Corporation

Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ:LTBR) is focused on developing advanced nuclear fuel technology essential to delivering abundant, zero-emission, clean energy and providing energy security to the world. The Company is developing Lightbridge Fuel™, a proprietary next-generation nuclear fuel technology for existing light-water and pressurized heavy-water reactors, significantly enhancing reactor safety, economics, and proliferation resistance. The Company is also developing Lightbridge Fuel for new small modular reactors to deliver the same benefits, plus load-following with renewables, on a zero-carbon electric grid.

Lightbridge has entered into two long-term framework agreements with Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, the United States Department of Energy's operating contractor for Idaho National Laboratory, the United States' lead nuclear energy research and development laboratory. DOE's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear program has twice awarded Lightbridge to support the development of Lightbridge Fuel over the past several years. An extensive worldwide patent portfolio backs Lightbridge's innovative fuel technology. Lightbridge is included in the Russell 2000® and Russell 3000® Indexes. For more information, please visit www.ltbridge.com.

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Forward Looking Statements

With the exception of historical matters, the matters discussed herein are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations on the date of this news release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from such estimates. The risks include, but are not limited to: Lightbridge's ability to commercialize its nuclear fuel technology; the degree of market adoption of Lightbridge's product and service offerings; Lightbridge's ability to fund general corporate overhead and outside research and development costs; market competition; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; dependence on strategic partners; demand for fuel for nuclear reactors; Lightbridge's ability to manage its business effectively in a rapidly evolving market; the availability of nuclear test reactors and the risks associated with unexpected changes in Lightbridge's fuel development timeline; the increased costs associated with metallization of Lightbridge's nuclear fuel; public perception of nuclear energy generally; changes in the political environment; risks associated with war in Europe; changes in the laws, rules and regulations governing Lightbridge's business; development and utilization of, and challenges to, Lightbridge's intellectual property; risks associated with potential shareholder activism; potential and contingent liabilities; as well as other factors described in Lightbridge's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Lightbridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Lightbridge's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and in its other filings with the SEC, including in the sections thereof captioned "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements," all of which are available at http://www.sec.gov/ and www.ltbridge.com.

Investor Relations Contact:

Matthew Abenante, IRC

Director of Investor Relations

Tel: +1 (347) 947-2093

ir@ltbridge.com

Lightbridge Corporation Enters into Engineering Contract with Stern Laboratories