Oklo picked for Cold War plutonium fuel talks as U.S. shifts nuclear strategy

Nuclear power developer Oklo Inc. (NASDAQ: OKLO) has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to enter advanced discussions on using Cold War‑era plutonium as fuel for its reactors. This positions Oklo as an early beneficiary of a major policy shift in how the U.S. handles surplus weapons‑grade nuclear material.

 Policy shift under the Trump administration

The move stems from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump about a year ago that directed the government to scale back its long‑running program to dilute and dispose of surplus plutonium. Instead of treating this material purely as waste, the order calls for redirecting it into advanced nuclear technologies as a strategic fuel source.

 20 metric tons of plutonium as potential fuel

In line with that directive, the Trump administration outlined plans last year to make roughly 20 metric tons of Cold War‑era plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads available to U.S. power companies as potential reactor fuel, according to a prior Reuters report. That stockpile represents a significant potential long‑term fuel stream for next‑generation nuclear developers.

 What the DOE move means for Oklo

The Energy Department’s decision to bring Oklo into advanced talks is a key step toward turning that policy into practice. It signals growing federal support for advanced reactor designs that can tap surplus weapons‑grade plutonium as a productive asset rather than a disposal liability, and it puts Oklo on investors’ radar as a potential first mover in this niche.