The Department of Energy is moving forward on plans to fund a new generation of domestic nuclear fuel-cycle infrastructure through its Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program, signing memorandums of understanding with five finalist states in late July after 26 states originally expressed interest. Louisiana and Oklahoma are among the states now working with the department to explore federal-state partnerships that could bring new fuel-cycle facilities and funding to their regions.
The program, announced by DOE at the start of the year, invites states to host work spanning the front and back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, from fabrication and enrichment to testing and workforce development. The memorandums signed with Louisiana, Oklahoma, Idaho, Tennessee and Utah are not firm funding commitments, but they open the door to closer federal-state cooperation on siting and developing projects.
Louisiana's application proposes three separate hubs: a supply chain fabrication, materials testing and workforce development center at the Louisiana State University Innovation Park; a small modular reactor test and deployment site at a military installation in the northwest part of the state; and an evaluation of spent fuel sequestration options near Port Fourchon. The state's push builds on its new Nuclear Strategic Framework, launched in March, along with legislation creating an expedited permitting pathway for advanced nuclear projects.
Oklahoma, which has never hosted a commercial nuclear power plant, is pursuing its own application with support from Oklo, Deep Isolation and Oklahoma-based Occlusion Nuclear Solutions, building on a 2025 state law that directed a nuclear generation feasibility study.
Source: Nuclear Newswire / American Nuclear Society -- https://www.ans.org/news/2026-08-04/article-8268/a-closer-look-at-the-initial-nlic-selectionspart-1/