Oklo says in talks on using US Cold War-era plutonium as nuclear fuel

Nuclear power company Oklo said on Tuesday it has been picked by the U.S. Energy Department for advanced talks on taking Cold War-era plutonium, a dangerous fissile material, for potential use as nuclear reactor fuel.

Reuters reported last year that the Trump administration plans to make about 20 metric tons of Cold War-era plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads available to U.S. power companies as a potential fuel for reactors.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order about a year ago ordering the U.S. government to halt much of a program to dilute and dispose of surplus plutonium, and instead provide it as a fuel for advanced nuclear technologies.

The energy department holds surplus U.S. plutonium, which has a half-life of 24,000 years and must be handled with protective gear, at heavily guarded weapons facilities including in South Carolina, Texas and New Mexico. 

Oklo said it plans to develop the fuel with newcleo, a European company that aims to build high-tech nuclear reactors.

Newcleo would bring fuel experience and potential project capital, subject to agreements, approvals and U.S. security and safeguards requirements, Oklo said in a statement.

"This program creates a pathway to use existing surplus material as bridge fuel for advanced reactors to bring more reactors online sooner," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Material that has been set aside for disposal can instead be converted into fuel to produce electricity."

Stefano Buono, newcleo's CEO and founder, said using the plutonium as fuel would reduce U.S. nuclear liabilities.

Democratic U.S. lawmakers have urged Trump to cancel his plan to make surplus plutonium available as a fuel, saying it represents a proliferation risk and involves enough plutonium to make 2,000 atomic bombs.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright was on Oklo's board before taking his role in Trump's cabinet. His department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the talks or on how the material would be kept safe.