Trump administration wants nuclear startups to use plutonium for their reactors

特朗普政府希望核能初创公司利用钚作为反应堆燃料

For decades, the U.S. has had a plutonium problem. Around 100 tons of the stuff was made during the Cold War to go into powerful atomic bombs. But as nuclear stockpiles were dismantled, the government had to store the radioactive material in high-security facilities. Now it wants startups to help get rid of some of it. 几十年来，美国一直面临着“钚问题”。冷战期间，美国制造了约 100 吨钚用于制造威力巨大的原子弹。随着核武库的拆除，政府不得不将这些放射性物质储存在高安全级别的设施中。现在，政府希望初创公司能协助处理掉其中一部分。

The Department of Energy said Tuesday it has selected five nuclear startups to enter into negotiations with the government to receive a portion of the plutonium, which could potentially be used to power a new generation of nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy previously identified 34 tons of plutonium for disposal. The five startups include Oklo, Standard Nuclear, Shine Technologies, Flibe Energy, and Exodys Energy. 美国能源部周二表示，已选定五家核能初创公司与政府进行谈判，以接收部分钚，这些钚有望用于为新一代核反应堆提供动力。能源部此前已确定将 34 吨钚列为待处理物资。这五家初创公司包括 Oklo、Standard Nuclear、Shine Technologies、Flibe Energy 和 Exodys Energy。

Energy Secretary Chris Wright was previously on Oklo’s board, but he resigned when he joined the administration and said he has divested his shares. Sam Altman was Oklo’s board chair following its merger with his acquisition company, AltC; Altman resigned the position last year. 能源部长克里斯·赖特（Chris Wright）此前曾是 Oklo 的董事会成员，但在加入政府时他已辞职，并表示已剥离了所持股份。萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）在 Oklo 与其收购公司 AltC 合并后曾担任董事会主席，但他已于去年辞去该职务。

While plutonium does exist in nature, it is more typically a by-product of bombarding non-fissile uranium with neutrons. Once formed, that isotope of plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years, meaning the government can’t just wait it out. 虽然钚在自然界中确实存在，但它更常见的是通过中子轰击非裂变铀产生的副产品。一旦形成，这种钚同位素的半衰期长达 24,000 年，这意味着政府无法通过简单的“等待”来解决问题。

Oklo is developing a reactor that can run on traditional uranium fuel as well as plutonium. The plutonium would help the company fuel its first reactors. Exodys Energy is also developing a reactor that can operate using some plutonium as part of mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, which blends uranium with plutonium. Flibe Energy is working toward a reactor that would run on plutonium and other by-products of fission reactors. Oklo 正在开发一种既能使用传统铀燃料也能使用钚的反应堆。这些钚将帮助该公司为其首批反应堆提供燃料。Exodys Energy 也在开发一种反应堆，该反应堆可以使用部分钚作为混合氧化物燃料（MOX）的一部分，这种燃料将铀与钚混合在一起。Flibe Energy 则致力于研发一种能够利用钚及裂变反应堆其他副产品的反应堆。

MOX is currently produced in France, and while the U.S. had plans to make it in South Carolina, the first Trump administration canceled the project after it blew through budgets and timelines. One of Oklo’s partners in the project, U.K.-based Newcleo, said it intends to build its own MOX fuel fabrication facility nearby. 目前，MOX 主要在法国生产。虽然美国曾计划在南卡罗来纳州生产该燃料，但特朗普第一任政府在项目严重超支和延期后取消了该计划。Oklo 在该项目中的合作伙伴之一、总部位于英国的 Newcleo 表示，打算在附近建立自己的 MOX 燃料制造工厂。

Not everyone is thrilled with the plan, though. Since the plutonium came from nuclear weapons, the security concerns are significant. “Countries have tried this before, and they concluded that, as nice as it would be to use that plutonium as fuel, it’s really just a liability and we need to dispose of it permanently,” Scott Roecker, a vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, told the New York Times. 然而，并非所有人都对这一计划感到兴奋。由于这些钚源自核武器，安全隐患十分重大。核威胁倡议组织（Nuclear Threat Initiative）副总裁斯科特·罗克（Scott Roecker）在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示：“其他国家以前也尝试过这样做，但结论是，尽管将钚用作燃料听起来很美好，但它实际上只是一个负担，我们需要将其永久处置。”

For the startups, the next step is to enter into advanced negotiations with the government over security and the transportation of the plutonium. 对于这些初创公司而言，下一步是与政府就钚的安全和运输问题进行深入谈判。