Sam Altman's small modular reactor company just got a big assist from the U.S. government - and from an unusual source. The fuel for its future reactors may end up being old Cold War plutonium.
Oklo shares jumped more than 10% Tuesday after the Department of Energy selected the company for advanced talks under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program. The stock has now gained nearly 18% in the past week.
The U.S. is sitting on a pile of surplus plutonium left over from decades of nuclear weapons work, and the DOE's program is meant to turn that material into fuel for advanced reactors. Oklo is one of five companies picked for advanced talks, and it plans to partner with European nuclear firm newcleo on the project.
Newcleo is putting up to $2 billion behind the partnership, while Sweden's Blykalla is weighing an investment of its own. For investors, the appeal is straightforward.
Fuel has been one of the bigger bottlenecks for the U.S. nuclear restart. The country phased out most domestic enrichment years ago and now relies heavily on foreign supply, including Russia - a homegrown fuel source moves Oklo out of that line of fire.
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Oklo doesn't have a single working reactor yet, with its first commercial plant - the Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory - still under construction. So the stock is being priced on the runway, not on revenue.
Days like Tuesday show what the runway looks like when it widens, because a DOE program selection signals government backing. A $2 billion private commitment from newcleo signals capital, and the fuel deal answers one of the biggest "but how?" questions hanging over the entire advanced reactor sector.
Oklo's market cap is now around $11.5 billion. Texas Capital reaffirmed its Buy rating on the news.
The Trump administration set a target of getting at least three advanced reactor designs running outside national labs by July 4, 2026 - and Oklo is one of the companies leaning into that timeline. With AI data centers expected to use 12% of U.S. power by 2030, demand for nuclear isn't slowing down.
Whether Oklo hits its 2026 target or slips is the next thing to watch.
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