Nuclear energy company Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) has announced a new three-way partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory and Nvidia aimed at using artificial intelligence to advance plutonium-bearing nuclear fuel research and push forward the development of its Pluto reactor platform.
The partnership centres on building science-based AI models to support fuel validation, materials science research, and fabrication development for fast-spectrum reactors. The team will also be exploring the potential for nuclear-powered AI computing centres at Los Alamos, combining Oklo’s energy ambitions with Nvidia’s computing infrastructure expertise.
The announcement builds directly on work Oklo disclosed in December, when the company revealed it had conducted fast-spectrum plutonium criticality experiments with Los Alamos, generating data to support fuel validation and the early development of the Pluto reactor concept.
According to Oklo’s head of media and communications, the addition of Nvidia to the collaboration brings AI-enabled modelling, simulation, digital-twin capabilities, and materials science expertise to accelerate the nuclear fuel research and validation process. Specific research activities will include modelling fuel behaviour under fast-spectrum conditions, using digital twins to support testing and operational readiness assessments, and analysing materials and irradiation data generated at Los Alamos.
Pluto is a sodium fast reactor platform and stands out within Oklo’s portfolio for its focus on plutonium-bearing fuel. The company is currently prioritising the use of surplus plutonium to power Pluto, but its longer-term fuel pathway is expected to centre on recycling used nuclear fuel to produce uranium-transuranic metal fuel through a process called electrochemical recycling. That process keeps plutonium mixed with other actinides rather than isolating it, which is a key safety and non-proliferation distinction from older reprocessing techniques such as PUREX. The mixed fuel is then fissioned in fast reactors including Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouses.
Oklo described Pluto’s role in its broader fuel strategy as that of a bridge. While domestic supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium and commercial recycling infrastructure continue to scale up, surplus plutonium can serve as an interim fuel source, supporting disposition of existing stockpiles while that wider ecosystem develops.
The plutonium-bearing fuel programme is currently in its technical evaluation and validation phase. Work is focused on building the technical, manufacturing, and regulatory foundation needed to advance a commercial pathway.
Next steps for Pluto include continued fuel and criticality testing, fuel fabrication planning, safety-basis development, safeguards and material-control reviews, and the applicable Department of Energy authorisation steps required for pilot reactor deployment.
Oklo holds three active projects in the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program, one of which is being developed through Atomic Alchemy, an Oklo subsidiary. The new Los Alamos and Nvidia partnership is tied specifically to the Pluto project and represents a significant step in bringing AI tooling into the nuclear fuel development process at a national laboratory level.
Ewan is a reporter at the Foreign Policy Journal, primarily covering US current affairs and news related to NYSE-listed stocks. He has over two decades of experience in journalism and digital publishing.
