Trump administration wants nuclear startups to use plutonium for their reactors

America has had a plutonium problem for decades. About 100 tonnes of the material was used to make powerful nuclear bombs during the Cold War. But athey destroyed nuclear stockpilesed, the government had to store the radioactive material in high-security facilities.

Now, he wants startups to help relieve some of the burden.

Five nuclear startups are negotiating with the government.

The Energy Department said on Tuesday it has selected five nuclear startups to negotiate with the government to get a share of the plutonium, which could potentially be used to power a new generation of nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy previously identified 34 tonnes of plutonium for disposal.

The five startups include Oklo, Standard Nuclear, Shine Technologies, Flib Energy and Exodis Energy.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright was previously on Oklo’s board but resigned when it went into administration and said he had sold his shares. Sam Altman was the board chairman of Oklo following its merger with its acquisition company, AltC; Altman resigned from the post last year.

While plutonium exists in nature, it is usually a byproduct of bombarding non-fissionable uranium with neutrons. Once created, that isotope of plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years, meaning the government can’t afford to wait for it.

Oklo is developing a reactor that can run on conventional uranium fuel as well as plutonium. The plutonium will help the company fuel its first reactors. Exodis Energy is also developing a reactor that could operate using some plutonium as part of mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, which blends uranium with plutonium. Flib Energy is working toward a reactor that will run on plutonium and other byproducts of fission reactors.

MOX is currently produced in France, and while the US had plans to build it in South Carolina, the Trump administration previously cancelled the project after budget and timeline violations. UK-based Nucleo, one of Oklo’s partners in the project, said it intends to build its own MOX fuel manufacturing facility nearby.

However, not everyone is thrilled with the plan. Since plutonium comes from nuclear weapons, safety concerns are significant. Scott Roecker, vice president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said, “Countries have tried this before, and they’ve concluded that as much as it would be nice to use plutonium as fuel, it’s really just a liability and we need to dispose of it permanently.” told the New York Times.

For the startup, the next step is to enter into advanced talks with the government about the safety and transportation of the plutonium.