The U.S. Department of Energy is offering nuclear energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium from Cold War-era warheads to convert into fuel for advanced reactors, aiming to reduce reliance on Russian uranium.

Companies, including Oklo and France’s Newcleo, can apply for up to 19 megatonnes of plutonium, with selection potentially speeding up Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals.

This initiative supports small modular reactors, which require high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, currently controlled by Russia, while addressing growing electricity demand driven by data centers and AI, the Financial Times has reported.

Experts, however, warn of security risks in handling plutonium, and previous attempts to use it for civilian energy were abandoned due to high conversion costs and legal uncertainties over congressional control of nuclear waste.