Nuclear tech company Oklo has been conducting a multi-day plutonium experiment with DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory this week to validate plutonium as fuel for future fast reactor development and deployment.
A press release by Oklo said the company used plutonium materials already in LANL’s inventory to carry out a series of low-power experiments at DOE’s National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) at Los Alamos, N.M.
“This campaign is part of a larger plan to turn America’s surplus fuel stockpiles into bridge fuel for advanced reactors,” Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo, said in the release. “By working with LANL—the worldwide leader in plutonium science—at DOE’s NCERC facility, we are generating the modern benchmark data needed to qualify surplus plutonium as a bridge fuel for advanced reactors, strengthening U.S. energy dominance, supporting the near-term deployment of clean, reliable capacity, and eliminating material that would otherwise remain in long-term storage.”
Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced legislation this week to formally establish the Office of Fusion at the Department of Energy.
House Fusion Energy Caucus co-chairs Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) introduced a companion bill in the House this week as well. The bill looks to amend the DOE Organization Act to reestablish an office focused on fusion energy. The Office of Fusion will serve the purpose of advancing fusion energy, in partnership with the private sector, to accelerate research, demonstration and deployment of nuclear fusion.
The bill comes a month after DOE released reorganization plans for its agency and included an Office of Fusion. The legislation looks to codify DOE’s plans and “urge DOE to move forward with their plans to ensure that the United States can continue leading the way on fusion energy and eventually reach commercialization,” according to Padilla’s Monday press release.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), who used his post on the House Appropriations Committee to push for remediation of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, said Wednesday he will not stand for re-election.
Newhouse, who also holds the unofficial status as perhaps one of President Donald Trump’s least favorite House members, made the announcement on his website. “I am announcing today that I will not seek reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives,” he said. “Serving the Fourth District of Washington has been the honor of my life, and this decision comes with no reservations or remorse, only gratitude for the tremendous opportunity to have represented my home state in Congress. “
Newhouse is one of a handful of Republican House members who voted to impeach President Trump after a mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Axios reported Newhouse is one of only two such GOP members that remain in the House. Newhouse won his past two re-election campaigns despite overcoming a primary challenger backed by Trump.
Urenco USA has completed its first production of low enriched uranium plus (LEU-plus) and installed its third cascade of centrifuges for the advanced fuel at its New Mexico uranium enrichment plant, the company said this week.
“In 2025, we have delivered on our plans to launch a new advanced fuels capability and to install new production capacity, demonstrating Urenco USA’s commitment to supporting the future needs of our customers and the U.S. nuclear industry as the country increasingly relies on nuclear energy,” John Kirkpatrick, managing director of Urenco USA, said in a Wednesday press release.
Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European Urenco Group, said it completed its initial production run of uranium enriched to 8.5% U-235. LEU-plus is uranium that is enriched between 5% and 10% U-235 and supports longer operating cycles for the current fleet and supplies fuel for advanced reactors. According to the release, this is the first time a commercial uranium enrichment in the United States has produced this level of enrichment. The company plans to begin production of commercial quantities of LEU-plus for its customers in mid-2026.
A recent report by the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power (UCAN Power) says America’s commercial power industry will benefit from the Pentagon’s growing role in nuclear technology.
The report drafted in November outlines “34 tangible recommendations” that the Department of Defense (DoD), or as the White House calls it the Department of War (DOW), could undertake to advance nuclear technology. This includes having the defense sector become an early customer for first-of-its-kind technology.
“The Department of War can and must lead the way,” according to the report. “America’s armed forces face persistent challenges on the world stage and in the Homeland. Advanced nuclear technologies provide a solution to enhance energy resilience, improve reliability, and overcome contested logistics challenges.”
EnergySolutions and another Utah-based company, Creekstone Energy, have teamed up to explore nuclear power options for data centers, the companies said last week.
Creekstone and EnergySolutions said in a Dec. 11 press release they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore advanced nuclear options at the Utah Creekstone Gigasite in Delta, Utah and possibly other locations. The non-binding MOU outlines a process to study the feasibility of developing 2,000 megawatts or more from advanced nuclear capacity such as small modular reactors (SMRs), according to the release. The project is targeted to come online in the 2030s.
“Evaluating the role that next-generation nuclear could play in our broader energy portfolio is an important step in refining the long-term strategy for the Gigasite,” Ray Conley, CEO of Creekstone Energy said in the release. “Nuclear has the potential to complement our multi-source approach and support the growth of large-scale AI [artificial intelligence] and digital-infrastructure development. EnergySolutions’ technical and regulatory expertise gives us confidence that this evaluation will be thorough, professional, and grounded in real-world conditions.”