Tennessee is set to hold the nation’s first nuclear fuel recycling facility to support the development of a “clean, reliable energy supply,” nuclear tech company Okla announced.
The facility will recover usable fuel material from used nuclear fuel and develop it into fuel that can be used in advanced reactors. The company is also in discussions with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to potentially recycle its used fuel and evaluate power sales from future facilities in the area. “This collaboration would mark the first time a U.S. utility has explored recycling its used fuel into clean electricity using modern electrochemical processes, turning a legacy liability into a resource while creating a secure fuel supply for the future,” a press release from the company states.
“Fuel is the most important factor in bringing advanced nuclear energy to market,” said Jacob DeWitte, Okla’s co-founder and CEO. “By recycling used fuel at scale, we are turning waste into gigawatts, reducing costs, and establishing a secure U.S. supply chain that will support the deployment of clean, reliable, and affordable power. Tennessee is showing the nation that recycling can be done to support new nuclear development and growth.”
“The next generation of nuclear technologies are being built and developed right here in our own backyard,” TVA President and CEO Don Moul added. “Our partnership with Oklo represents yet another step forward in shaping the future of nuclear energy and ensuring a secure energy future for the Valley and beyond.”
In May, President Trump signed executive orders boosting the nuclear industry.
One executive order aims to “speed up the approval and adoption process for specialized nuclear reactors,” a White House official said at the time of the signing. “It also creates a special envoy position and a strategy around nuclear technology export, the idea being that we can grow American industry on the back of foreign purchasers who are interested in this sort of technology as well.”
Another order reforms the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reduce the regulatory processes that have held the industry back. A separate order reduces overregulation for nuclear reactor testing.
The final order seeks to spur a “closer collaboration with private industry to ensure that we have the fuel supplies we need for a modernized nuclear energy sector,” the official explained. It also discusses the creation of a “nuclear energy sector workforce.”
