A significant show of support for a new industry at the former K-25 site in West Oak Ridge, Roane County, took place yesterday at the Bill Wilcox Interpretive Center in the Heritage Center Industrial Park. State and national leaders gathered to announce that Oklo Corporation will soon begin constructing a spent fuel fabrication facility to convert spent nuclear fuel into reusable nuclear fuel.

The project is expected to create approximately 800 jobs, marking the largest job investment in Roane County. Attendees included Governor Bill Lee, Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, State Senator Ken Yager, State Representative Rick Scarborough, Roane County Mayor Wade Creswell, Oak Ridge historian Ray Smith, Roane State Community College President Dr. Chris Whaley, numerous local elected officials, and the TVA president.

The event highlighted strong support for Oklo Corporation’s decision to establish its facility in East Tennessee, specifically in Roane County. More details will be covered next week.

Oklo Inc., founded in 2013 by MIT graduates Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Cochran, is a Santa Clara-based company developing compact fast fission reactors. It focuses on clean energy by recycling nuclear waste into fuel, using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). Oklo has a DOE agreement for HALEU and plans a fuel fabrication facility and its first reactor at Idaho National Laboratory by 2027.

The company, backed by investors like Sam Altman, went public in 2024 and is pursuing NRC licensing.