Oklo Plans $1.68 Billion Nuclear Fuel Center in TN
Posted on September 5, 2025 by djysrv
Oklo Plans $1.68 Billion Fuel Center in TN
Oklo Claims to Have a Fuel Recycling Process. How does it Work?
Kairos Power And BWXT MOU on Commercial Triso Manufacturing
US Uranium Unveils UF6 Conversion Facility Plans
Fermi America Closes $350 Million in Series C Financing
Poland’s Orlen And Synthos Agree to Joint Venture for 1st BWRX-300 Nuclear Plant
NASA Posts Lunar Nuclear Plan with Commercial Focus
Oklo Plans $1.68 Billion Fuel Center in TN
Oklo Announces Fuel Recycling Facility as First Phase of up to $1.68 Billion Advanced Fuel Center in Tennessee
Nation’s first privately funded facility to recycle used nuclear fuel will help reduce costs, create jobs, and establish a durable U.S. fuel supply.
Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) an advanced nuclear technology company,announced plans to design, build, and operate a fuel recycling facility in Tennessee as the first phase of an advanced fuel center.
The firm will organize an investment totaling up to $1.68 billion. The initial investment will be for the construction of a facility to recycle used nuclear fuel into fuel for fast reactors like Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse advanced reactor.
The recycling facility will recover usable fuel material from used nuclear fuel and fabricate it into fuel for advanced reactors. This process can reduce waste volumes for more economical, clean, and efficient disposal pathways.
The fuel recycling facility is the first phase of Oklo’s broader advanced fuel center, a multi-facility campus aimed at supporting recycling and fuel fabrication.
Oklo is also exploring opportunities with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to recycle the utility’s used fuel at the new facility and to evaluate potential power sales from future Oklo powerhouses in the region to TVA.
Oklo has completed a licensing project plan for the fuel recycling facility with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is currently in pre-application engagement with the regulator’s staff.
The facility in Tennessee is expected to begin producing metal fuel for Aurora powerhouses by the early 2030s, following regulatory review and approvals.
This collaboration would mark the first time a U.S. utility has explored recycling its used fuel into clean electricity using modern electrochemical processes, turning a legacy liability into a resource while creating a secure fuel supply for the future.
“Fuel is the most important factor in bringing advanced nuclear energy to market,” said Jacob DeWitte, Oklo co-founder and CEO.
“By recycling used fuel at scale, we are turning waste into gigawatts, reducing costs, and establishing a secure U.S. supply chain that will support the deployment of clean, reliable, and affordable power.”
The more than 94,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel stored at power plant sites around the country contain considerable reserves of recyclable fuel. The energy that can be unlocked from this material via recycling is equivalent to about 1.3 trillion barrels of oil, or five times the reserves of Saudi Arabia.
Separately, in July, Oklo successfully completed pre-application readiness assessment for Phase 1 of the combined license application for Oklo’s first commercial Aurora powerhouse.
Oklo CEO and Co-founder Jacob DeWitte at the announcement of Oklo’s planned advanced nuclear fuel center in Oak Ridge, TN, with the Governor of Tennessee Bill Lee, the Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development Stuart C. McWhorter, United States Senators from Tennessee Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commissioner Bradley Crowell, and Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee’s 3rd district Chuck Fleischmann.
“Tennessee is well positioned to lead America’s energy independence, which is why we created the Nuclear Energy Fund to support and expand our state’s nuclear ecosystem. We’re proud to partner with Oklo to innovate for the future, while bringing continued opportunity and prosperity to Tennessee families,” said Governor Bill Lee.
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Oklo Claims to Have a Fuel Recycling Process. How does it Work?
Oklo’s nuclear fuel recycling process is a type of pyroprocessing that uses an electrochemical process to separate usable fuel from spent nuclear waste. This technology, which is being developed in collaboration with U.S. national laboratories, allows Oklo to extract more than 90% of the remaining energy from used fuel and turn it into new fuel for its advanced fast reactors, like the Aurora powerhouse.
How the Process Works
Oklo’s process differs from traditional aqueous reprocessing methods because it’s a dry process that doesn’t use large amounts of water or chemical solvents. Instead, it involves electrorefining, a technique that has been demonstrated at the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Fuel Conditioning Facility.
Electrorefining
In this process, used nuclear fuel is submerged in a bath of molten salt. An electrical current is then applied to the salt, which causes the usable elements in the fuel, like uranium and transuranics (e.g., plutonium), to migrate and collect on a cathode. This process separates the reusable material from the highly radioactive fission products, which remain in the molten salt.
Fuel Fabrication
The separated material, which is a mixture of uranium and transuranics, is then fabricated into new metal fuel for Oklo’s fast reactors. The process is designed to be proliferation-resistant because it keeps the transuranic materials together and doesn’t create a pure stream of plutonium.
Waste Reduction
By recycling the fuel, Oklo significantly reduces the volume of high-level radioactive waste that needs to be stored long-term, making disposal more economical and efficient.
This recycling technology is a key part of Oklo’s business model, aiming to provide a secure domestic fuel supply, reduce costs, and convert what is currently a liability—used nuclear fuel—into a valuable resource for generating clean energy.
Technical Challenges to Commercialization
While pyroprocessing has a strong historical foundation, its demonstration at the EBR-II was at a laboratory scale. Scaling this process to an industrial level for commercial operation is a major technical and financial hurdle.
The process operates in an extremely harsh environment, with high temperatures of 500-700°C and highly corrosive molten salts. The entire operation must be conducted remotely within heavily shielded “hot cells” due to the extreme radioactivity of the materials, adding significant complexity and cost to the facility’s design and operation.
Economic Viability and Cost
Oklo’s narrative of “reducing costs” stands in contrast to a broader academic and expert debate about the economic viability of reprocessing. Research indicates that reprocessing is not currently cost-competitive with the “once-through” fuel cycle, particularly with today’s low uranium prices.
Oklo’s economic model does not appear to be based on the immediate market value of the recovered uranium, but rather on a long-term strategic value proposition. The model implicitly places a significant value on a closed fuel cycle and the elimination of a long-term waste management liability, making it a bet on future market conditions and regulatory frameworks rather than on present economic realities.
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Kairos Power And BWXT MOU on Commercial Triso Manufacturing
The Kairos Power-BWXT team will work together to explore opportunities for the optimization of commercial production of TRISO fuel for Hermes 2 and future commercial reactors
Kairos Power and BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced an agreement to collaboratively explore technical and process opportunities for the optimization of commercial production of TRISO nuclear fuel to supply Kairos Power’s advanced reactor fleet and other potential customers.
The arrangement will bring together Kairos Power’s established capabilities in annular graphite pebble production with BWXT’s more than 20 years of experience in TRISO fuel manufacturing and will consider possible paths to deliver fuel for the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant and subsequent Kairos Power reactor deployments.
Kairos Power’s Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (KP-FHR) uses TRISO fuel embedded in annular graphite pebbles roughly the size of a golf ball.
Under the collaboration agreement, the joint team will explore opportunities to utilize the state-of-the-art TRISO Development Lab (TDL) at Kairos Power’s Albuquerque campus, the BWXT Innovation Campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, and BWXT’s existing TRISO production line to optimize TRISO fuel manufacturing and process automation.
The companies have also agreed to explore opportunities to jointly develop a TRISO fuel fabrication facility, which would incorporate this experience and knowledge, along with newly developed technology for commercial fuel production.
This combined fuel manufacturing knowledge and expertise creates the opportunity to develop efficient and cost-effective mass-produced TRISO coated particle fuel to support Kairos Power’s commercial scale-up and lower fuel costs for the advanced reactor industry.
TRISO (TRi-structural ISOtropic) particle fuel is a proven technology developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, which has dubbed it “the most robust nuclear fuel on earth.” Each TRISO particle is made up of a uranium, carbon, and oxygen fuel kernel encapsulated by three layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive fission products. By combining TRISO fuel with molten fluoride salt coolant, Kairos Power’s advanced reactor technology achieves robust inherent safety in a simplified, compact design.
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US Uranium Unveils UF6 Conversion Facility Plans
(WNN) The proposed facility – which UEC says will be the largest conversion facility in the USA and “amongst the most modern in the Western world” – is envisaged as having a designed capacity to produce some 10,000 tU per year as UF6, representing a “substantial share” of the USA’s 18,000 tU per year demand.
The proposed facility is the result of work initiated with Fluor Corporation in July 2024 and supported by a recently completed AACE Class 5 conceptual study. UEC said it has initiated discussions on potential siting options, “evaluating factors such as logistics, workforce availability, public acceptance, local incentives, and synergies with other fuel cycle facilities.”
“The project will move forward contingent on several factors, including completion and assessment of additional engineering and economic studies, securing strategic government commitments, utility contracts, regulatory approvals, and favorable market conditions,” the company said.
“UEC has begun initial discussions with the United States government, state-level energy authorities, utilities, and financial entities, and will report further updates as these engagements advance.”
UEC Gets a New Name
Texas-headquartered UEC said the new company will be called United States Uranium Refining & Conversion Corp. (UR&C). Onshoring the nuclear fuel cycle is seen as a priority for national security.
“Positioning UEC as the only vertically integrated US company with uranium mining, processing, refining and conversion capabilities is both a significant commercial opportunity and a strategic necessity for the United States,” UEC President and CEO Amir Adnani said.
“UEC’s end-to-end capabilities would provide a secure, geopolitically reliable source of uranium hexafluoride – the feedstock needed for uranium enrichment to produce nuclear fuel – for “undersupplied domestic and allied markets.”
Conversion is a chemical process to refine U3O8 to uranium dioxide, which can then be converted into uranium hexafluoride gas. Honeywell’s Metropolis Works plant, built in the 1950s in southern Illinois, is currently the only uranium conversion facility in the USA. It was temporarily shut down from 2017 to 2023 due to poor market conditions, but was restarted in July 2023.
UEC has three hub and spoke in-situ recovery uranium platforms in South Texas and Wyoming with a combined licensed production capacity of 12.1 million pounds U3O8 (4654 tU) per year.
The facility will position UEC as the only American company with a nuclear fuel supply chain capability from uranium production to refining, conversion, and delivery of natural UF6, the company said.
High conversion prices in both the spot and long-term markets are “indicative of a highly undersupplied market and a major bottleneck in the US nuclear fuel supply chain, and market conditions, plus current federal government support, have created a “prime opportunity” for a US company to develop a new uranium refining and conversion plant, it added.
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Fermi America Closes $350 Million in Series C Financing
Fermi America, developing the world’s largest, behind-the-meter artificial intelligence private grid campus (the “HyperGrid Project”), in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, announced the successful close of its $100 million Series C preferred equity financing round led by Macquarie Group, alongside the establishment of a $250 million senior loan facility, funded solely by Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets business, with $100 million drawn at close.
This financing marks a major milestone for Fermi America to secure long-lead supply chain assets..
The company said in its press statement the Series C equity round and senior loan facility “provide a strong foundation for Fermi America to continue locking up global long-lead time items, adding subject matter experts to the Fermi team, and constructing phase one of the HyperGrid Project.”
About the FERMI Project
The Texas Firm, led by former DOE Secretary Rick Perry plans to build four 1,150 MW (4.6 GW) Westinghouse AP1000 PWR type nuclear reactors at a 5,700 acre site adjacent to the NNSA Pantex nuclear weapons depot in Amarillo, TX, which is 360 miles northwest of Dallas, TX.
According to its press statement, the project is expected to have its first reactor, of the four, in revenue service by 2032. Until then the facility will rely on natural gas and solar energy for electricity. Amarillo is home to a large and productive gas field. The gas plants are quicker to build and construction of them can scale to electricity demand by the data centers until it is sufficient to justify building the reactors.
Given the timeline for a nuclear new build at this scale, it could be 2040 or later before all four reactors are in revenue service. The 2032 date provided by Fermi American for the first reactor is likely to be subject to change.
By partnering with the Texas Tech University, by leasing the site for 99 years, project developers will be able to leverage a legal authority of the State of Texas called “Sovereign Ovenership” which is expected to clear away delays related to water and mineral rights and local zoning.
The site is expected to host so-called hyperscale data centers based on “behind the meter connections” which will likely mean most of the power generated by the reactors will not go on the Texas electrical power grid. Amarillo is not part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. ERCOT, which covers most of the state.
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Poland’s Orlen And Synthos Agree to Joint Venture for 1st BWRX-300 Nuclear Plant
Companies say Europe’s first small modular reactor will be built near city of Wloclawek
(NucNet) Polish companies Orlen and Synthos Green Energy (SGE) have agreed on a new operating model for their joint venture Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), paving the way for construction of Poland’s first BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) near the central city of Wloclawek.
The new model means state-controlled energy company Orlen and privately owned SGE will each hold 50% of the shares and have equal rights in OSGE, including the ability to alternately appoint the chief executive officer and chairman.
Another element of the agreement is a licensing agreement that gives OSGE direct access to the BWRX-300 technology, developed by them US company GE Vernova (GEV).
The new OSGE structure introduces a steering committee responsible for overseeing project implementation and making operational decisions. The committee will also support the creation of additional special purpose vehicles responsible for the construction of additional reactors.
In December 2023, OSGE received a decision-in-principle for the construction of up to 24 SMRs at six potential sites across the country. Those six sites included Wloclawek.
Orlen Planning Up To 600 MW Of Capacity By 2035
In January 2024, Orlen laid out plans for deploying two reactors with about 600 MW of nuclear power capacity by 2035.
OSGE also signed an agreement with the Polish Data Center Association to explore the integration of SMRs with data centre infrastructure in Poland.
SGE chief executive officer Rafal Kasprów, who is also CEO of OSGE, told NucNet recently that SGE is building partnerships in Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the UK as it seeks to expand its footprint and deploy new-generation reactors across Europe.
With peak electricity demand expected to grow and coal capacity rapidly exiting the system, Poland faces one of Europe’s most acute energy crises.
Kasprów said: “Poland can’t keep up with new consumption. We must replace coal with reliable baseload – and that’s what SMRs offer.”
The BWRX-300 is a 300-MW water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems. It is based on an existing boiling water reactor design – the ESBWR – that is licensed in the US.
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NASA Posts Lunar Nuclear Plan with Commercial Focus
(Space News)(NASA) NASA is moving ahead with plans to support development of a lunar nuclear power system with an emphasis on commercialization.
On 08/29/25 the agency released a draft Announcement for Partnership Proposals, or AFPP, for its Fission Surface Power initiative to gather industry input for the final version.
The AFPP is designed to implement a policy directive signed July 31 by Acting Administrator Sean Duffy that seeks to accelerate work on nuclear power systems for the moon. The directive calls for a reactor capable of producing at least 100 kilowatts of power that would be ready for launch by the end of 2029.
NASA plans to pursue the effort through public-private partnerships using funded Space Act Agreements. While the directive called for selecting two companies, the draft AFPP states NASA can choose “one, multiple or none” of the proposals.
The draft provides few new details about NASA’s requirements. One, restated from the directive, is that the system will use a closed Brayton cycle power conversion system — a signal, industry officials said, that NASA wants the technology to scale to higher-power systems.
The reactor would operate in the lunar south polar region for at least 10 years. A cover letter accompanying the draft seeks input on issues including cybersecurity, physical security and reactor fuel.
Under the Space Act Agreement structure, the company would own the reactor and sell power to NASA and other customers. The AFPP requires proposers to submit a financing plan “showing how cash from operations, financing, and NASA covers the expenses of the total end-to-end deployment of the FSP system.”
Proposers must also provide a “Commercial Lunar Power Business Plan” outlining the strategy, potential customers and market size. “The market should include or leverage customers other than NASA,” the draft states.
That approach also extends to delivery. Companies may propose that NASA land the reactor on the moon, if it weighs no more than 15,000 kilograms. But the AFPP says companies “that propose a wholly commercial approach to the end-to-end deployment, all other things being equal, will receive higher-rated proposal evaluations.”
The draft does not state how much funding NASA expects to provide but says the final version, due no later than Oct. 3, will include that information. Awards are expected by March 2026.
INL Report on Space Nuclear Power Development
The directive followed a report commissioned by the Idaho National Laboratory that recommended accelerating space nuclear power development. One option in that report called for building a reactor of at least 100 kilowatts through traditional contracts; another proposed public-private partnerships for reactors of 10 to 100 kilowatts.