U.S. Department of Energy Advances Talks With Oklo, Exodys, SHINE, Standard Nuclear, Flibe

The U.S. Department of Energy said it is advancing negotiations with five nuclear power companies to convert surplus, Cold War-era plutonium stockpiles into fuel for startups building small modular reactors, under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.

“For years, the federal government has been working on turning old, unexploded warheads left over from the Cold War into a fuel for next-generation nuclear power plants”

CNN

The five companies named by DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy spokesperson are Oklo, Exodys Energy, SHINE Technologies, Standard Nuclear, and Flibe Energy, and the initiative could supply up to 20 metric tons of plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads if finalized.

CNN

The program is framed as part of the Trump administration’s push to speed up the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S. and shore up a domestic supply of nuclear fuels, including both uranium and plutonium.

Last May, President Donald Trump ordered DOE and other agencies to develop plans to expand U.S. uranium production and make surplus plutonium available to industry “in a form that can be utilized for the fabrication of fuel for advanced nuclear technologies.”

The DOE opened applications for the plutonium program in October 2025, replacing an earlier plan to dilute and dispose of weapons-grade material by encasing and burying it underground at a waste site in New Mexico.

Oklo confirmed it was selected for the program and said it would convert the material into fuel in a partnership with European reactor firm newcleo, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright previously sat on Oklo’s board of directors but the company said he stepped down and divested his shares after his confirmation.

Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said the surplus plutonium could be used to address “fuel supply constraints,” and he added that the program could “create a pathway” to use extra plutonium “as bridge fuel for advanced reactors to bring more reactors online sooner.”

Devdiscourse

CNN reported DOE’s principal deputy assistant secretary of nuclear energy Mike Goff said the program could “help companies unlock the next level of private funding to broaden domestic nuclear fuel supplies.”

CNN also said the negotiations aren’t yet finalized, even as DOE selected Oklo and four other companies—Exodys Energy, SHINE, Standard Nuclear and Flibe Energy—to begin “advanced negotiations.”

In a separate statement, newcleo CEO Stefano Buono praised the partnership with Oklo and said they would work on “reducing nuclear liabilities through our fuel and reactor technologies.”

The plutonium program’s critics include Ernest Moniz, co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and former energy secretary during the Obama administration, who said in a May 2025 blog post that plutonium-based fuels and reprocessing “have a poor track record” in civilian nuclear energy programs.

“Topline The Department of Energy is in late talks about plans to provide weapons grade plutonium from dismantled Cold War-era nuclear warheads to possibly five nuclear energy startups, the department said in an announcement reported by multiple outlets”

Forbes

Moniz’s list of risks, as described by Latitude Media, included that it could encourage nuclear weapons proliferation and increase the cost of deploying nuclear energy, and CNN similarly highlighted concerns about proliferation from transferring weapons-usable plutonium to private industry.

CNN quoted a September letter from Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Reps. Don Beyer of Virginia and John Garamendi of California warning that “The transfer of weapons-usable plutonium to private industry would increase the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.”

The stakes for the companies are immediate but conditional, because DOE’s program selection only begins “advanced negotiations” over whether the companies could access the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.

For the next step, TechCrunch said the startups’ path is to enter into advanced negotiations with the government over security and the transportation of the plutonium, while the DOE negotiations do not guarantee a final agreement.