Would You Like Some Plutonium with That?

Peter Zeihan 6 min

The US lacks the materials processing capabilities and civilian plutonium infrastructure required to safely implement MOX fuel for grid expansion. The only country in the world that has decided that putting weapons-grade plutonium in civilian hands is a good idea is Russia.

  • Donald Trump

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    The Electricity Crisis and Grid Expansion Needs

    The US faces massive electricity shortages requiring a doubled industrial capacity and a 50% grid expansion, but current policies halt progress by raising material costs and canceling projects.

  2. 1:27

    The Proposed Solution: Mixed Oxide Fuel

    The Trump administration considers using MOX fuel, which mixes uranium with plutonium from decommissioned warheads, to power reactors without needing new uranium enrichment. Russia is the only nation using this technology because it converted its Cold War warheads into fuel, making the economic cost a wash despite high upfront investment.

  3. 2:51

    The Global Lack of Weapons-Grade Plutonium

    Most countries cannot adopt this method because they lack the tens of thousands of nuclear warheads required to serve as an input fuel source. Implementing this technology requires building a civilian system that creates large volumes of weapons-grade plutonium as part of its supply chains. The US lacks the necessary materials processing capabilities to turn surplus plutonium cores into fuel, a requirement shared by all nations attempting this.

  4. 5:09

    The 2026 Pilot Program and Fuel Cycle Risks

    Officials hope to launch a pilot program by the end of 2026, which would require preparing a fuel cycle that puts weapons-grade plutonium in civilian hands.

  5. 5:29

    The Proliferation Concern and Russian Comparison

    Russia remains the only country that has decided putting weapons-grade plutonium in civilian hands is a good idea, acting as a great proliferator.

Key points

  • 0:00

    The United States has just massive electricity shortages right now and a number of states are on the verge of having rolling brownouts.

  • 0:00

    We need to expand the industrial plant by at least double in order to prepare for a deglobalized world.

  • 0:00

    Pretty much all electricity expansions in the country are on hold due to tariff policies driving up costs.

  • 0:00

    The Trump administration's tariff policies have massively driven up the cost of everything related to the grid.

  • 1:27

    It's called mixed oxide fuel. In essence, you modify a nuclear power reactor.

  • 1:27

    Instead of running on down-blended uranium, you use MOX, which is a mix of uranium and plutonium.

  • 1:27

    The only country that uses MOX at the moment for their civilian power systems is Russia.

  • 1:27

    Russia does it because it had 30,000 nuclear warheads, mostly plutonium-driven, as part of its arsenal when the Cold War ended.

  • 2:51

    Not a lot of countries have nuclear weapons. Not a lot of countries had tens of thousands of them to decommission.

  • 2:51

    To have this sort of power sector, you have to have a civilian system that creates large volumes of weapons-grade plutonium.

  • 2:51

    One of the problems the United States has at every level right now is you don't have enough materials processing.

  • 5:09

    They are hoping, hoping, hoping, hoping to have a little pilot program going by the end of calendar year 2026.

Who and where

People · 1

  • Drawing of Donald Trump

    Donald Trump 2

    President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)

    Photo 1

1. Photo: Daniel Torok, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Donald Trump)

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