Since 1965, Mr. Hector A. D’Auvergne has been developing DBI’s proprietary nuclear thorium fuel cycle in comparative seclusion. DBI, with the ongoing support of Dr. Franklin Ford, formerly of the University of California, Berkeley, was able to obtain the assistance of expert personnel from major universities including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of North Carolina, Stanford University and Texas A&M. Today, DBI has over forty years of R&D expertise on “how to introduce thorium oxide as an energy resource for the production of heat energy”.
Initial research focused on two topics: a) thorium packaging and b) neutron absorber control methods that could enable fuel storage in the core of the reactor until decommissioning. These fuels consist of fissile transmuted/spent (burned) thorium oxide, transmuted/declining (burning) thorium oxide transmuting/new (fresh) thorium oxide, and the original startup fuel.
As D’Auvergne’s initial research efforts began to bear fruit, peer-reviewed nuclear research articles and related documents authored by Dr. Edward Teller and other experts enabled DBI to develop its technology for the peaceful purpose of producing steam for process plants.
From 1995 until present, advances in computational power and modeling have enabled D’Auvergne’s research to transition to product commercialization.
The original DBI was founded in 1965. Its offspring DBI/Century Fuels was incorporated in 2008 in the State of Delaware as a technology licensing and nuclear fuel packaging company. DBI/Century Fuels has the rights to the thorium-related intellectual property that Mr. D’Auvergne has been developing these past four decades.
