Fuel Fabrication and Recycling
Recovering energy from used nuclear fuel
Fuel recycling is a core part of Oklo’s business lines. By recycling used nuclear fuel, Oklo can tap up to 95% of the energy remaining in fuel rods taken from the light water reactor fleet, strengthen long-term fuel supply, reduce waste, and support deployment of its advanced reactors at scale.
Fuel recycling allows Oklo to source nearly 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel stored at sites around the U.S. and turn it into abundant power. That’s enough used fuel, if all were fissioned through fast fission power plants, to power the entire U.S. for more than 100 years at current national consumption levels.
The benefits of fuel recycling
Used nuclear fuel still contains significant energy that can be accessed using fast fission reactor technology.
This approach enables:
Recovery of additional clean energy from existing used fuel
A smaller volume of material requiring long-term disposal
Reduced long-term radiotoxicity of the remaining waste
A more integrated domestic fuel supply supporting sustained reactor operation
Together, these outcomes expand domestic fuel supply, reduce long-term waste burdens, and strengthen the resilience of the U.S. clean energy system.
How Oklo recycles nuclear fuel
Oklo’s fuel recycling process applies developed and demonstrated technology with modern engineering to create a practical, repeatable system.
Secure handling
Used nuclear fuel is received and handled inside secure, purpose-built facilities under strict regulatory oversight.
Electrorefining
Oklo uses advanced electrorefining technology (pyroprocessing) developed through decades of research at U.S. national laboratories to separate and recover materials that still contain significant energy.
Material management
Recovered materials are maintained in controlled, accountable forms designed for safe handling and long-term stewardship.
Fuel fabrication
Those materials are prepared for reuse as reactor fuel, extending the life of existing fuel.
From laboratory to reality
Oklo is planning to build a domestic fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the first phase of a broader fuel complex. The project aims to establish an integrated, end-to-end fuel system in the United States.
Safety and stewardship. Oklo’s facilities are designed to operate within controlled environments and under strict regulatory oversight.
Key safety principles include:
- Multiple layers of physical and operational protection
- Continuous monitoring and secure material accounting
- Alignment with long-standing U.S. nonproliferation requirements
- Processes designed to recover uranium and transuranic elements rather than producing a separate stream of pure plutonium
These measures are intended to support secure material handling, regulatory compliance, and protection of workers, the public, and the environment.
