Nuclear Scaling Initiative Unites Nuclear Energy Leaders and Experts in a Nationwide Campaign to Drive Smart Fuel Management

Heidi Heitkamp, John Deutch, and Laura Holgate join NSI's Scale What Works campaign, promoting effective fuel management to scale next-generation reactors and strengthen America's energy and national security

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) today announced Scale What Works, a campaign focused on rapidly expanding American nuclear energy capacity with the right approach to nuclear fuel management, a critical component of scaling next-generation reactors and securing long-term U.S. energy leadership. The campaign highlights direct disposal of spent fuel as the safest, most secure, and least expensive pathway for the country.

"We have joined together to make sure America's nuclear fuel cycle supports progress toward resilient, secure, and affordable nuclear energy," said NSI's Executive Director Steve Comello. "Making smart fuel management choices today — that acknowledge that reprocessing technologies today are not economically viable and pose security and waste management risks — can drive grid reliability, innovation, and economic and national security for the United States and beyond."

As part of this campaign, NSI will advance a U.S. roadmap for responsible, affordable spent fuel management with direct disposal. The campaign will also amplify data-backed information on the consequences of pursuing efforts to reprocess or "recycle" spent fuel; building on a recent NSI report detailing the costs and risks of reprocessing.

"The United States has a responsibility and opportunity to lead the world in deploying safe and economical nuclear energy," said former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Energy John Deutch. "Getting it done requires making disciplined, strategic choices to invest in the uranium fuel cycle and focus on direct waste disposal. Reprocessing is not a reasonable option: it threatens security, is not cost effective and will slow our ability to scale nuclear energy." 

Like all other forms of energy production, nuclear energy creates waste. Managing nuclear waste includes a combination of above-ground storage and underground disposal. Directly storing and eventually disposing of intact spent fuel is a safe, straightforward process that uses existing expertise and infrastructure.

"Scale What Works means cutting distractions and doubling down on proven technologies," said former U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Laura Holgate. "For America to rebuild its reputation as a global nuclear energy pioneer, we need to move fast and stay focused on direct disposal. Getting fuel cycle management right will be the difference between leading the world and falling behind."

The alternative to directly disposing of spent fuel is reprocessing — sometimes conflated with recycling — which chemically breaks down spent fuel in an attempt to recover reusable elements. The countries that have pursued reprocessing have found it yields minimal material suitable for reuse and creates additional waste streams that complicate disposal. It is costly, complex, and time-intensive, increasing energy prices for consumers and diverting resources from readily deployable technologies. Reprocessing also poses significant security risks by introducing weapons-usable plutonium into the fuel cycle.

"Let's be clear: we will only realize the incredible promise of nuclear energy if we make the right choices," said former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp. "Spent fuel management is a matter where it makes more sense to take the proven path than revisit high-risk technologies like reprocessing that have a history of stalling progress."

About NSI
NSI is a collaborative effort of Clean Air Task Force, the EFI Foundation, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative to build a new nuclear energy ecosystem that can quickly and economically scale to 50+ gigawatts of safe and secure nuclear energy globally per year by the 2030s.
Learn more at www.nuclearscaling.org.

SOURCE Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)