Curio wins Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas Award for nuclear waste recycling

Curio has been named a winner in Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas Awards for its NuCycle process, which aims to turn U.S. nuclear waste into fuel and cut storage timelines dramatically. The recognition spotlights a technology with potential implications for nuclear security, energy supply and long-term waste management. Why it matters: - Curio’s NuCycle process targets one of the nuclear industry’s biggest problems: what to do with spent fuel that is currently planned for storage for 100,000 years or more. - The company says the technology could recover materials from nuclear waste, including fuel that could power the U.S. for 150 years, plus precious metals and medical isotopes. - The award gives Curio a national platform as nuclear recycling gains attention as a possible tool for energy security and waste reduction. What happened: - Curio was named a winner of Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas Awards for its NuCycle nuclear waste recycling process. - The recognition was announced June 16, 2026. - Fast Company highlighted 191 projects across 14 categories in this year’s awards. - A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters evaluated more than 1,500 entries. The details: - Curio describes NuCycle as a process that turns U.S. nuclear waste into profitable fuel. - The company says NuCycle can cut storage time from 100,000 years to 300 years. - The U.S. has more than 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel awaiting burial. - Fast Company’s awards assess impact, sustainability, design, creativity, scalability and ability to improve society. - Fast Company’s Summer 2026 issue, on newsstands June 23, will feature select award winners. - The issue will include solutions spanning geothermal energy, privacy-first cell plans and municipal grocery stores. Between the lines: - The award suggests mainstream business and media interest is widening around nuclear fuel recycling, a field often associated with technical and regulatory hurdles. - Curio is trying to frame nuclear waste not as a disposal burden alone, but as a feedstock with economic value. - The company’s pitch also blends energy policy with supply-chain and medical isotope benefits, broadening the potential use case beyond waste management. - Ed McGinnis, Curio’s president and CEO, said the company is moving at a pace the industry has not seen and that NuCycle is designed to change the economics and security of the nuclear fuel cycle. What’s next: - Fast Company will feature additional award winners in its Summer 2026 issue. - Curio’s public announcement points to continued efforts to expand partnerships and commercialization around nuclear recycling. - The company says it has lab-scale validation across four DOE national labs, $14 million in competitive federal grants and a partnership with Utilities Service Alliance for collaboration options with 18 operating U.S. member reactors. The bottom line: - Curio’s Fast Company win puts nuclear waste recycling in the spotlight as a possible long-term energy and materials strategy, not just a disposal challenge. - More information