Trump admin wants nuclear startups to use plutonium for their reactors
The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking to collaborate with five nuclear startups to utilize surplus plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons. This initiative aims to power a new generation of nuclear reactors while addressing the long-standing issue of plutonium storage. However, concerns about security and the potential risks associated with using plutonium as fuel have been raised by experts in the field.
- ▪The Department of Energy has selected five nuclear startups to negotiate the use of plutonium for new reactors.
- ▪Oklo, one of the selected startups, is developing a reactor that can use both uranium and plutonium as fuel.
- ▪Security concerns have been highlighted regarding the use of plutonium, which originated from nuclear weapons.
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| Original publisher | TechCrunch |
| Canonical URL | https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/26/trump-admin-wants-nuclear-startups-to-use-plutonium-for-their-reactors/ |
| Publication time | Tue, 26 May 2026 22:37:46 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-26T22:42:28.754Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-26T22:42:28.754Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | PmMgsH8Ai3sF · 2 stories |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
For decades, the U.S. has had a plutonium problem. Around 100 tons of the stuff was made during the Cold War to go into powerful atomic bombs. But as nuclear stockpiles were dismantled, the government had to store the radioactive material in high-security facilities. Now, it wants startups to help get rid of some of it. The Department of Energy said Tuesday it has selected five nuclear startups to enter into negotiations with the government to receive a portion of the plutonium, which could potentially be used to power a new generation of nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy previously identified 34 tons of plutonium for disposal. The five startups include Oklo, Standard Nuclear, Shine Technologies, Flibe Energy, and Exodys Energy.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TechCrunch.
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