The Trump administration is planning to make around 20 metric tons of plutonium from old nuclear warheads available to U.S. power companies. This move aims to explore the use of this Cold War-era material as fuel for nuclear reactors. Sources familiar with the situation say this decision follows an executive order signed by Trump in May, which directed the government to stop diluting and disposing of surplus plutonium and instead consider its use in advanced nuclear technologies.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to announce soon that it will seek proposals from the industry regarding this initiative. However, the details of the plan are still in draft form and may change. The plutonium will be offered to companies at little or no cost, but they will be responsible for transportation and the costs of building and decommissioning the necessary facilities to process and manufacture the fuel.
This 20 metric tons of plutonium will come from a larger stockpile of 34 metric tons that the U.S. had previously agreed to dispose of under a non-proliferation agreement with Russia in 2000. The DOE has not confirmed the specifics of the report but mentioned that they are exploring various strategies to strengthen domestic nuclear fuel supply chains.
The Trump administration views boosting the U.S. power industry as a priority, especially as electricity demand rises due to the growth of data centers linked to artificial intelligence. However, the idea of using surplus plutonium as reactor fuel has raised concerns among nuclear safety experts. They point to a past effort that failed when the U.S. tried to convert this plutonium into mixed oxide fuel, a project that was ultimately scrapped due to its high costs.
Currently, the Energy Department stores surplus plutonium at secure facilities in South Carolina, Texas, and New Mexico. Handling plutonium requires protective gear due to its long half-life of 24,000 years. Until Trump’s order, the plan had been to blend the plutonium with inert materials for disposal in an underground storage site in New Mexico, a process estimated to cost around $20 billion.
Experts like Edwin Lyman, a nuclear physicist, have voiced strong opposition to the new plan. He argues that attempting to turn this dangerous waste into reactor fuel is risky and could lead to repeating past mistakes with the MOX fuel program. Lyman advocates for sticking to the safer and more secure disposal methods previously in place.
