Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) and Standard Nuclear have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore commercial collaboration on nuclear fuel recycling and advanced fuel manufacturing.
The agreement creates a framework for assessing the commercial use of recycled nuclear materials from Oklo’s proposed fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The companies will evaluate the potential supply of reprocessed uranium and uranium-transuranic materials recovered from used nuclear fuel for Standard Nuclear’s TRISO fuel manufacturing operations.
The partnership is intended to support domestic nuclear fuel supply chains as demand for advanced reactor technologies continues to grow across both commercial and government sectors.
Both companies were recently selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a group of five firms advancing discussions under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.
The memorandum also establishes a framework for the companies to explore the responsible use of U.S. surplus plutonium as feedstock for advanced reactor fuel applications.
Oklo and Standard Nuclear intend to evaluate potential cooperation on facility development, regulatory licensing, packaging solutions, and transportation logistics related to plutonium conversion projects.
Oklo co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jacob DeWitte said the collaboration with Standard Nuclear “helps support the domestic supply chains needed to deploy advanced nuclear at scale.”
Standard Nuclear Chief Executive Officer Kurt Terrani described the agreement as “a compelling pathway to source feedstock materials” for the company’s TRISO fuel manufacturing and radioisotope power system businesses.
The United States currently holds nearly 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel, which Oklo views as a significant untapped energy resource waiting to be converted into usable fuel.
Oklo is also advancing development of Pluto, a plutonium-fueled fast test reactor designed to demonstrate how surplus plutonium can serve as bridge fuel for advanced nuclear systems.
Standard Nuclear describes itself as the only independent U.S. developer of TRISO fuel for advanced reactors, supplying fuel solutions for both terrestrial energy projects and space-based applications.
The collaboration represents Oklo’s first third-party offtake pathway for recycled materials, a milestone that could help accelerate the company’s broader fuel recycling commercialization strategy.
The proposed partnership could strengthen domestic capabilities across the nuclear fuel cycle while supporting long-term U.S. energy security and reducing reliance on newly mined or foreign-sourced nuclear materials.
