Oklo jumps 7% as DOE selects startup for plutonium fuel program

Oklo Inc. shares jumped as much as 11% Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Energy selected the Sam Altman-backed nuclear startup for advanced negotiations to convert surplus weapons-grade plutonium into reactor fuel, addressing a key supply bottleneck for advanced nuclear development.

"Fuel supply constraints are a key throttle to advanced reactor development," Oklo Chief Executive Officer Jacob DeWitte said. "This program creates a pathway to use existing surplus material as bridge fuel for advanced reactors to bring more reactors online sooner."

Oklo was one of five companies chosen for the DOE's Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, which takes roughly 50 metric tons of plutonium designated as excess to national security needs and makes it available for conversion into nuclear fuel. The company will partner with Newcleo, a European developer of advanced reactors, to use the material. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year directing the DOE to consider processing some of the plutonium for advanced reactors.

The stock closed at $69.85, up 6.7%, paring earlier gains of 11%. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%. Oklo shares remain about flat for the year and are down more than 60% from record highs reached in October, as investors have weighed the timeline to revenue and profitability for the pre-revenue startup.

The plutonium program adds another fuel pathway for Oklo's Aurora and Pluto reactor designs. The company's Aurora facility, set to be built at Idaho National Laboratory, received Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for its Principal Design Criteria earlier this month — a foundational rulebook for safety and performance standards. Oklo has also worked with Los Alamos National Laboratory to validate the Pluto reactor design, which recycles nuclear waste into energy.

Last month, Oklo partnered with Nvidia Corp. to use artificial intelligence infrastructure to accelerate plutonium-bearing fuel research. DeWitte told Barron's at the time that the agreement would "significantly accelerate" work on the Pluto reactor.

Wedbush analysts said they do not view the DOE selection as a "timeline accelerant" for Oklo, with the first reactor still expected to come online in late 2027 or early 2028. They maintained their outperform rating and $110 price target, calling the program "additive to Oklo's multi-pronged fuel strategy."

The DOE program addresses a structural challenge for the advanced nuclear industry: fuel supply. Most conventional reactors run on low-enriched uranium (enriched to 3% to 5% uranium-235), while advanced designs like Oklo's require higher assay fuels or alternative feedstocks. By repurposing plutonium that would otherwise be disposed of, the program offers a bridge fuel pathway while the U.S. builds out domestic supply chains for high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU (enriched to 19.75%).

Oklo's selection signals government support for alternative fuel strategies as tech companies push into clean energy to power data centers. Nvidia, Microsoft Corp., and Amazon.com Inc. have all announced nuclear power purchase agreements or investments in recent months, driving demand for new reactor deployments.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.