Oklo shares surge 7% after DOE selects company for plutonium negotiations

The Department of Energy wants to turn Cold War-era surplus plutonium into advanced reactor fuel, and Oklo just got the call.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team May. 26, 2026

Oklo Inc. just landed one of the more unusual government contracts in recent memory. The Department of Energy selected the nuclear startup for detailed negotiations under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, a fancy name for turning decades-old weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for next-generation reactors.

Investors noticed. Oklo shares climbed roughly 7% on the news, with the stock hitting an intraday high near $70.05 and trading in a range between $65.88 and $70.05 on elevated volume. Pre-market activity was even more enthusiastic, with movements approaching 12% before settling down.

Cold War leftovers meet clean energy ambitions

Oklo’s pitch is to convert that plutonium into fuel designed for advanced nuclear reactors. The process has to meet stringent safety, security, and accountability measures under US nonproliferation guidelines.

The selection isn’t a done deal. It moves Oklo into the “detailed negotiations” phase, which in government procurement language means there’s still meaningful work before contracts get signed.

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This follows a March 2026 agreement between Oklo and the DOE that supports the design and construction of the company’s first Aurora powerhouse reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. The Aurora line targets a capacity of up to 15 MWe, which is small by traditional nuclear standards but designed for modular deployment.

A $1.68 billion bet on domestic nuclear fuel

Oklo has plans to build a $1.68 billion nuclear fuel production facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. That facility represents a concentrated effort to establish domestic nuclear fuel supply chains, reducing American dependence on foreign enrichment and fabrication services.

Demand for reliable, clean baseload power is intensifying from data centers and AI infrastructure, which are emerging as enormous electricity consumers requiring consistent, high-capacity power.

Oklo’s Q1 2026 earnings showed the company is still in its pre-revenue phase, with earnings per share coming in at -$0.19, which aligned with analyst expectations.

Where crypto meets nuclear energy

A tokenized version of Oklo shares, called OKLOon, exists through Ondo Finance, offering fractional investment opportunities in the NYSE-listed stock. Tokenized equities allow investors to buy exposure to stocks like Oklo without needing a brokerage account or meeting minimum investment thresholds.

What this means for investors

Oklo is a pre-revenue nuclear startup that just got tapped for negotiations, not a contract. Government procurement timelines are famously glacial, and there’s no guarantee that negotiations will result in a final agreement.

The risk profile is straightforward. Oklo needs to actually build and operate reactors that work. Nuclear regulatory timelines are long. The company is burning cash with no revenue on the horizon in the near term. And competition in the advanced nuclear space is heating up, with companies like NuScale, TerraPower, and X-energy all pursuing their own reactor designs and government relationships.

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