Oklo (OKLO) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for advanced negotiations under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization program.
The announcement is significant given OKLO’s existing relationship with the DOE, which includes site access at Idaho National Laboratory, where it has broken ground on its first commercial Aurora powerhouse reactor.
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Despite today’s rally, OKLO shares remain down about 35% versus their year-to-date (YTD) high.
Significance of the DOE Announcement for OKLO Stock
The surplus plutonium program could prove strategically important for OKLO stock because one of the most significant bottlenecks facing advanced reactor developers is fuel supply, particularly HALEU.
Accessing government surplus plutonium inventories will help OKLO diversify its fuel sourcing beyond conventional enrichment pathways and reduce dependence on the constrained HALEU supply chain.
This will strengthen the nuclear tech firm’s vertically integrated model and potentially accelerate deployment timelines if fuel fabrication challenges can be resolved with DOE support.
In short, the surplus plutonium program could provide OKLO with a differentiated fuel pathway that complements its existing joint venture with Centrus focused on HALEU deconversion services at the Ohio facility.
Why Else Are OKLO Shares Worth Owning in 2026?
The DOE selection arrives as OKLO has been accumulating substantial commercial momentum.
In January, the company signed a binding power agreement with Meta Platforms (META) for up to 1.2 GW of nuclear capacity and has built a customer pipeline exceeding 14 GW under non-binding letters.
This positions it squarely as a power provider for large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) and data center operators, prompting Bank of America recently to reinstate coverage with a “Buy” rating.
In a research note last week, the investment firm cited OKLO’s differentiated build-own-operate model as a potential path to early leadership in the small modular reactor (SMR) sector.
Its $80 price target signals potential upside of another 17% in OKLO shares.
What’s the Consensus Rating on Oklo?
Other Wall Street firms agree with BofA on OKLO stock, especially since the company has secured accelerated Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval for its Aurora reactor design.
