An advanced nuclear technology company, and Standard Nuclear, a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, today announced they have entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore commercial collaboration on nuclear fuel recycling and advanced fuel manufacturing. As part of that collaboration, the companies also intend to work together on the safe, secure, and cost-effective utilization of U.S. surplus plutonium for advanced reactor fuel, following both companies’ recent selection by the U.S. Department of Energy among five firms for advanced negotiations under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.
The MOU aligns with the administration’s executive orders aimed at accelerating U.S. nuclear energy deployment and establishing domestic supplies of critical nuclear materials and fuel and establishes a framework for the companies to explore:
- Recycled nuclear material offtake. Oklo and Standard Nuclear intend to jointly evaluate product specifications, potential commercial terms, and delivery schedules for recycled materials from Oklo’s planned fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The collaboration would focus on the supply of reprocessed uranium (RepU) and uranium-transuranic material (U/TRU) streams from used nuclear fuel, which could serve as feedstock for TRISO fuel manufacturing.
- Surplus plutonium fuel collaboration. The MOU also establishes a framework for the companies to explore the responsible use of U.S. surplus plutonium for advanced reactor fuel after Oklo and Standard Nuclear were selected for advanced negotiations under the DOE’s Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.The companies intend to evaluate opportunities to collaborate on facilities, licensing, packaging, and transportation to support secure, cost-effective conversion of surplus plutonium into advanced reactor fuel for clean, baseload electricity.
“Oklo’s fuel strategy is built around turning used nuclear fuel and surplus nuclear materials into usable fuel for reactors and power plants,” said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. “The collaboration with Standard Nuclear helps support the domestic supply chains needed to deploy advanced nuclear at scale.”
“Standard Nuclear is committed to developing a secure, domestic supply chain for advanced nuclear fuel,” said Kurt Terrani, CEO of Standard Nuclear. “This partnership represents a compelling pathway to source feedstock materials for our TRISO fuel manufacturing and radioisotope power systems and is an important step in strengthening domestic fuel feedstock supply sources.”
Oklo is developing fuel recycling capabilities to recover useful materials from used nuclear fuel and convert them into feedstocks for advanced nuclear applications. The U.S. has accumulated almost 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel, representing a significant potential energy resource. Oklo is also advancing Pluto, a plutonium-fueled fast test reactor, as part of its broader strategy to demonstrate how surplus plutonium can be used as bridge fuel for advanced reactors rather than remain solely a long-term disposition challenge.
Meanwhile, Oklo’s planned fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee aims to support a commercial pathway for recovering selected materials from used fuel for advanced fuel manufacturing and isotope applications, including for healthcare, industrial, space, defense, and research uses.
Standard Nuclear is the nation’s only independent developer of TRISO fuel for advanced reactors, offering a reactor-agnostic fuel supply that supports both terrestrial and space applications. As a radioisotope power system developer, the company will benefit from commercial availability of recovered isotopes for use in compact power systems for space and defense applications.
About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, affordable energy at global scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical isotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert used nuclear fuel into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.
About Standard Nuclear
Standard Nuclear’s mission is to reliably deliver the essential building blocks of nuclear power at scale — enabling cost-effective, safe, and secure energy for the world. Supported by leading U.S. defense technology and critical infrastructure investment firms, Standard Nuclear is focused on the large-scale production of advanced nuclear fuel and radioisotope power systems. It is the nation’s only independent manufacturer of TRISO fuel — a robust, high-performance fuel essential to advanced nuclear reactors for both terrestrial and space applications. Standard Nuclear offers a reactor-agnostic supply of advanced fuels to the next-generation nuclear industry and delivers dependable radioisotope power solutions to the space and defense sectors. Through these efforts, it is helping to eliminate U.S. reliance on geopolitical adversaries for these strategically vital technologies. For more information, visit: https://www.standardnuclear.com/
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