DOE selects five companies to negotiate receipt of surplus U.S. plutonium

May 28, 2026, 12:29PMNuclear News
Flibe Energy is one of five companies selected by the DOE for advanced negotiations under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program. (Image: Flibe)

Nuclear start-ups Oklo and Flibe Energy both announced this week that they have been selected by the Department of Energy for advanced negotiations under the department’s Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, which aims to make surplus U.S. plutonium available to the nuclear industry for advanced reactor fuels.

According to multiple reports, three other companies—Exodys Energy, Shine Technologies, and Standard Nuclear—have also been selected for advanced negotiations under the program, which is being led by the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy.

DOE awards $19M to advance SNF recycling

February 6, 2026, 12:04PMNuclear News
The independent spent fuel storage installation at the decommissioned Zion plant in Illinois. (Photo: EnergySolutions)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy awarded more than $19 million to five U.S. companies—Alpha Nur, Curio Solutions, Flibe Energy, Oklo, and Shine Technologies—to research and develop recycling technologies for spent nuclear fuel (SNF).

According to DOE-NE, the projects will support President Trump’s goal of curtailing U.S. reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium while reducing the volume of SNF stored across the country. Projects are to last up to three years and will require a minimum 20 percent cost share from each award recipient.