--- title: "Trump Administration Providing Weapons Grade Plutonium to Sam Altman" description: "The White House is providing plutonium to Sam Altman's Oklo, one of four US companies chosen to test experimental reactor designs." date: "2025-10-24" modified: "2025-10-24" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/trump-altman-plutonium-oklo" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Energy" - "OpenAI" - "Science & Energy" --- # Trump Administration Providing Weapons Grade Plutonium to Sam Altman ![The White House is providing plutonium to Sam Altman's Oklo, one of four US companies chosen to test experimental reactor designs.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images* With the economy [the way it is]() these days, it's nice to have a little walking around money. Donald Trump certainly thinks so. Since his return to the White House, the president has labeled [440 federal properties]() for possible sale, leased [13.1 million acres]() of public land for strip mining, and [held a fire sale]() for satellites developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. In one of his wildest money moves to date, the [*Financial Times* reports]() that Trump is now offering companies access to plutonium from America's arsenal of cold war nuclear missiles. On Tuesday, the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched an application for interested parties to apply for access to a maximum of 19 metric tonnes — a little under 42,000 pounds — of weapons-grade plutonium, which has long been a [key resource]() undergirding the US nuclear arsenal. One of the companies anticipated to receive shipments of the fissile isotope from the DOE is Oklo, a "nuclear startup" backed — and [formerly chaired]() — by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Earlier in October, Oklo was [one of four US companies]() chosen by the DOE to join a [new pilot program]() meant to rush the testing and approval of experimental reactor designs. As the *FT* reports, we won't know for certain until December 31, when the DOE announces the companies selected to purchase the plutonium, but it's likely Oklo will be among them. That's stirring up plenty of anxiety throughout the scientific community, who say the relaxed approach to nuclear development is a major cause for alarm. "If there were adults in the room and I could trust the federal government to impose the right standards, it wouldn't be such a great concern, but it just doesn't seem feasible," Edwin Lyman, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists told the *FT*. The move comes as tech companies like OpenAI contribute to a [surge in energy consumption]() unlike anything the US has ever seen, leading to [record high electrical bills]() for American people. To meet demand, the Trump administration has embraced nuclear energy, which currently depends almost entirely on [foreign imports]() of uranium into the US — a bottleneck the White House is trying to [do away with](). In that light, pawning off warheads to the highest bidder is something of a stopgap solution while domestic uranium producers get things in order. In the meantime, it may have the fascinating side effect of reducing the US' capacity to [threaten its rivals]() with nuclear obliteration — which, to be fair, is sure to be a welcome development for many nations around the world. **More on nuclear energy:** *[Worker Falls Into Nuclear Reactor, Drinks a Little “Cavity Water”]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()