The Trump administration is set to provide American energy firms with approximately 20 metric tons of plutonium derived from decommissioned Cold War nuclear warheads as a potential fuel source for reactors, according to a source with knowledge of the matter and a draft memo detailing the plan.
Historically, plutonium had only been converted into fuel for American commercial reactors during brief tests. This initiative is anticipated to align with an executive order signed by Trump in May, wherein he directed the government to cease much of its existing program to dilute and dispose of surplus plutonium and, instead, utilize it as fuel for advanced nuclear technologies.
The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to make an announcement in the near future that it will seek proposals from the industry, based on information from the anonymous source. Since the proposal is still in draft, the final specifics may undergo changes following further dialogue.
The plutonium will be made available to the industry at minimal or no charge, but with stipulations. The industry will bear the costs associated with transportation, design, construction, and decommissioning of DOE-sanctioned facilities for recycling, processing, and manufacturing the fuel, as stated in the memo.
Information regarding the quantity of plutonium, the obligations of the industry under the plan, and the timing of a U.S. announcement had not previously been disclosed. The 20 metric tons are set to be sourced from a broader stockpile of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium that the U.S. had previously agreed to eliminate under a 2000 non-proliferation treaty with Russia.
The Department of Energy neither confirmed nor denied Reuters’ reports, merely stating that the department is „evaluating a variety of strategies to build and strengthen domestic nuclear fuel supply chains, including plutonium,” in line with Trump’s directives.
Enhancing the U.S. energy sector is a key political focus for the Trump administration, as electricity demand in the U.S. rises for the first time in twenty years due to the growth of data centers essential for artificial intelligence.
The proposal to utilize surplus plutonium as fuel has sparked apprehension among nuclear safety specialists, who contend that a prior similar attempt was unsuccessful. As part of the 2000 agreement, plutonium was originally intended to be converted into MOX fuel (a nuclear fuel comprising a blend of plutonium dioxide and uranium dioxide, rather than conventional enriched uranium fuel) to operate nuclear plants. However, in 2018, the initial Trump administration scrapped the MOX project contract, citing it would have exceeded $50 billion in expenses.
The DOE maintains surplus plutonium in highly secured weapons facilities, including Savannah River in South Carolina, Pantex in Texas, and Los Alamos in New Mexico. Plutonium possesses a half-life of 24,000 years and requires handling with protective gear.
Prior to Trump’s May order, the U.S. plutonium disposal strategy involved combining it with an inert substance and storing it in an underground repository known as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
The Department of Energy assessed that entombing plutonium would incur costs of $20 billion.
„Attempting to transform this material into reactor fuel is insanity. It would necessitate trying to replicate the failed MOX fuel program and expecting a different outcome,” stated Edwin Lyman, a nuclear physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.
„The surplus plutonium is a hazardous waste product, and the DOE should adhere to the safer and far more economical approach of diluting and disposing of it directly at WIPP.”
