Oklo COO Says Nuclear Waste Could Power America For 150 Years

Earlier this week, we covered Oklo’s approval by Chris Wright’s DOE to convert plutonium previously set for disposal into new fuel. “Fuel supply constraints are a key throttle to advanced reactor development,” Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said following the announcement. 

Jacob’s wife and Oklo’s COO Caroline DeWitte joined ZeroHedge and Radiant Energy Group’s Madison Hilly. Caroline laid out Oklo’s ambitious vision: recycle spent nuclear fuel, build fleets of reactors for AI hyperscalers like Meta, and turn what the industry currently treats as a liability (nuclear waste) into a strategic asset.

And unlike many of the “PowerPoint reactor” startups flooding the space, she says they are already building.

Nuclear Waste And A New Energy Order

One of the company’s core theses is that the U.S. is sitting on a massive untapped energy reserve in the form of spent nuclear fuel already stockpiled around the country.

“It has enough energy in it to power the entire country for 150 years. So let’s use it.”

Unlike conventional light-water reactors, Oklo’s fast reactors are designed to utilize fuel currently treated as waste, potentially bypassing future uranium bottlenecks while lowering long-term fuel costs.

The company is also pushing aggressively into isotope production, a market DeWitte suggested remains critically undersupplied after years of Western dependence on Russian supply chains.

“Some of these isotopes… if you had a kilogram, it might be a trillion dollars.”

Oklo is now racing to bring an isotope test reactor online in Texas and DeWitte says they hope to hit criticality around July 4th.

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— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) May 27, 2026

Silicon Valley’s AI Boom Fast-Tracking Nuclear Energy

The AI infrastructure arms race has abruptly transformed advanced nuclear energy from a niche policy idea into a strategic national priority.

DeWitte said the current policy environment, under Trump’s energy secretary Chris Wright, has dramatically accelerated Oklo’s deployment timelines.

“It’s been a world of difference since about a year ago.”

According to DeWitte, working through a Department of Energy partnership framework allowed Oklo to begin construction activities roughly two years earlier than would have been possible under the traditional Nuclear Regulatory Commission process. And Oklo currently has six DOE projects underway.

The company’s recent deal with Meta highlights where much of the demand is coming from: hyperscale AI infrastructure desperate for reliable baseload electricity.

“Everyone needs as much as they can get as soon as they can get it.”

Public sentiment around nuclear power appears to be shifting as communities increasingly resist giant AI server farms.

“Is there going to be a data center in my backyard?… Oh no, no, no, just a nuclear power plant. And they’re like, ‘Oh, good.’”

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— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) May 27, 2026

Check out the full interview below or listen on our Spotify.