The first nuclear fuel recycling facility in America opens in Tennessee

Nuclear energy from Most promising alternatives For fossil fuel – if we can find a sustainable way to care for unwanted radioactive waste that was created by the process. Interest owners from both public and private sectors I suggested different solutionsBut Tennesse will be the first to already build and operate a recycling facility in the United States for nuclear fuel.

in statement Last week, OKLO announced plans to build the first special facility for recycling nuclear fuel in the United States, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. If things continue as planned, the facility will start recycling and producing fuel by the early thirties. The company said that “will” open the potential of more than 94,000 metric tons of nuclear fuel used throughout the country. He added that this will lead to fuel “equivalent to 1.3 trillion barrels of oil, or five times the reserves of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Nuclear history

Tennessee’s share of nuclear energy may be greater than most other states. In 2023, about 48 % of electricity in Tennessee came from two nuclear manufacturers, according to L. US Energy Information Management. This decreased slightly to 32.3 % in 2025, although this is still higher than the national average, by 18.1 %. The latest nuclear reactor in the state, Watts Bar Unit 2, came online in 2016.

the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal owned company that provides a large part of the energy to Tennessee and the surrounding areas, explores options for spreading small standard reactors near Oak Ridge, the city where the fuel center is located in Oslo.

OAK RIDGE also hosts OAK RIDGE National Laboratory, which is an institution with Deep participation in nuclear sciences. Some stakeholders were martyred in this historical relationship in expressing their support for the project, with the CEO of TVA without a mall Call Tennessee “the essence of the American nuclear renaissance.”

Stewart C Maksher, Commissioner of the Ministry of Economic Development and Society said Release.

While OKLO is the construction of the first private nuclear fuel recycling factory in the United States, other commercial projects are already elsewhere. For example, and The Hague website In northern France, nuclear fuel consumed from Europe and Japan since 1976 has had a factory for its own treatment in the nuclear complex that was now dismantled, which is permanently owned, which is permanently characterized Operations stopped In 2014, behind it, the Rokkkasho nuclear re -processing attachment was attached to forgetting for more than 30 years due to safety concerns. The United Kingdom had a similar facility, a thermal oxide processor, which close In 2018.

Tamburial scheme, “big picture”

The attachment will be the first stage of the “advanced fuel center” in Tennessee, which is called “Oclu” is a multi -channel campus aimed at supporting recycling and fuel manufacturing. Specifically, the recycling facility will create a metal fuel for other energy plants such as Oklo’s Aurora PowerhouseA quick reactor under review by the Nuclear Regulation Committee (NRC).

To put the plan to the fruits, the company has recruited the local authorities to reach its board – a strategy that appears to be working, given the ambitious OKLO plan to bring up to $ 1.68 billion of investments and 800 new jobs to Tennesse.

For example, the company stated that it plans to recycle fuel used from TVA facilities. If this happens, this will be the first attempt by an American facilities company to reuse fuel used in clean electricity.

“The fuel is the most important factor in providing advanced nuclear energy to the market,” said Jacob Diite, CEO of Oklo. “By widespread recycling used fuel, we convert waste to Gigawatts, reduce costs, and create a safe American supply chain that supports the spread of clean, reliable and embarrassing energy.”