Oklo $OKLO ( ▼ 9.07% ) is making one of the most controversial moves in modern energy. The nuclear startup wants to turn leftover weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for a new generation of small nuclear reactors, reframing one of the most feared substances on Earth as a bridge to a cleaner energy future.
The idea sounds extreme. But in nuclear engineering circles, it is not new. What is new is that Oklo is trying to commercialize it in the United States.
Small Reactors, Radical Design
Founded in 2013 by CEO Jake DeWitte, Oklo set out to rethink how nuclear plants are built. Instead of massive, custom-built reactors that take decades and billions of dollars, Oklo is designing microreactors that generate as little as 15 megawatts of power. Think industrial-scale backup generators rather than city-sized power plants.
The real twist is the technology inside. Oklo’s reactors use liquid sodium instead of water as a coolant, allowing them to run at much higher temperatures. That makes them “fast reactors,” capable of extracting far more energy from nuclear fuel and burning materials that traditional reactors leave behind as long-lived waste.
Fast reactors have existed for decades, but they require specialized fuel. That fuel has been one of the biggest bottlenecks holding the industry back.
Plutonium as a Bridge Fuel
Most next-generation reactors are designed to run on HALEU, a higher-enriched form of uranium that the US does not yet produce at scale. Oklo’s workaround is plutonium.
The US government still has tons of plutonium left over from dismantled Cold War nuclear weapons. Until recently, the plan was to mix it with filler material and bury it in the desert. That changed this year when the Energy Department paused disposal plans and opened the door to using the material for civilian reactors.
Oklo recently split its first atoms using plutonium fuel at a national lab site, proving its design can go critical. If the company secures a portion of the government’s stockpile, it believes it could generate up to 2.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power millions of homes while domestic HALEU production ramps up in the 2030s.
High Stakes, High Valuation
Supporters argue this approach solves two problems at once: nuclear waste and clean energy supply. Critics say the economics and political risks are still unclear, and that plutonium’s reputation will be hard to overcome with regulators and the public.
Still, investors are buying the vision. Oklo is valued north of $12 billion despite having no commercial revenue yet.
If it works, Oklo could redefine nuclear power in America. If it fails, it will be remembered as one of the boldest energy experiments of the decade.