Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company, announced on Thursday plans to build a \u201cfirst-of-its-kind\u201d nuclear fuel recycling center.<\/p>\n
The first phase of the project is expected to cost nearly $1.7 billion and create 800 jobs. The facility, to be built in Tennessee, will be the first privately-funded nuclear fuel recycling center.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuel is the single most important factor in bringing advanced nuclear energy to market,\u201d Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said in a statement. \u201cBy recycling used nuclear fuel at an industrial scale, we are turning waste into watts, cutting costs, and establishing a secure U.S. supply chain that will accelerate deployment of clean, reliable, and affordable power. Tennessee is showing the nation that recycling can be done commercially.\u201d<\/p>\n
Energy Secretary Chris Wright served on Oklo\u2019s board of directors before being nominated to head the Department of Energy in the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
The facility to be built will recycle used nuclear fuel, offering a potential solution to a divisive issue that has plagued the nuclear energy industry: how to dispose of spent fuel. Answers to the question have proven difficult, such as in the case of the proposed<\/a> Yucca Mountain repository that has drawn strong opposition from local and state leaders in Nevada.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recycling facility will recover energy-bearing materials from used nuclear fuel to be fabricated into metallic fuel for fast reactors. Once used in a reactor, this process significantly reduces waste volumes for more economical, clean, and efficient disposal pathways,\u201d the Oklo press release says.<\/p>\n The \u201cmetallic fuel\u201d can be used the power fast reactors such as Oklo\u2019s Aurora powerhouse, a zero-emission power plant that \u201conly needs to be refueled once every decade (or longer),\u201d according to Oklo<\/a>. Maintenance on Aurora will take place more often, however.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who wants American energy to be cleaner, more affordable, and more sustainable should be rejoicing today. Oklo\u2019s program to turn Cold War-era plutonium into safe nuclear fuel for today \u2014 and tomorrow \u2014 is a bold and exciting achievement,\u201d Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told The Daily Wire in a statement.<\/p>\n Oklo and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are looking at more opportunities to collaborate, such as Oklo handling nuclear fuel recycling for the TVA and building other facilities in the state.<\/p>\n