The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to provide Cold War-era plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads to companies that want to convert the dangerous material into fuel for nuclear power plants.

The plan has generated debate and some unease among nonproliferation experts. If finalized, it would mark the first time the U.S. government has made weapons-grade plutonium available to private companies. The Energy Department has more than 50 tons of surplus plutonium left over from nuclear weapons programs, and the agency had previously been planning to dilute much of that material and bury it.

Some of the nuclear startups trying to obtain that plutonium say that transforming the waste into fuel is a better way to dispose of it.

On Tuesday, the Energy Department said that it had selected five companies to enter into “advanced negotiations” to potentially receive some surplus plutonium. That includes Oklo, a California-based nuclear power company, which plans to partner with Newcleo, a European developer of advanced nuclear reactors.

Using plutonium for fuel, Oklo and Newcleo said, could solve a looming problem: Energy firms want to build a new wave of nuclear reactors, but the United States can’t yet make enough conventional fuel from uranium to supply the plants. Harvesting old plutonium stockpiles could provide a short-term fix.

“A lack of fuel is one of the biggest choke points in expanding nuclear power right now,” said Jacob DeWitte, the CEO of Oklo, which is developing a novel type of small reactor intended to run on plutonium. “This will help us get more nuclear power online faster.”

The plan has been criticized by some Democrats and nuclear nonproliferation experts, who point out that plutonium can be used to create nuclear weapons. Critics also say that past efforts by the United States and other governments to turn plutonium into fuel for reactors have faced technical difficulties and soaring costs.

The plan is not yet final, and companies will still have to negotiate with the federal government over how to secure and transfer the plutonium. In addition to Oklo, the Energy Department said it had also selected four other companies — Standard Nuclear, Exodys Energy, SHINE Technologies and Flibe Energy — to enter into advanced negotiations to receive the material under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, which was established last year.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Brad Plumer/US Dept. of Energy
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