New Plutonium Science Laboratory serves critical national security missions

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Science Laboratory (PluS Lab) has received its first plutonium shipment and is poised to begin operations, marking a pivotal milestone in the Laboratory’s expansion of fundamental plutonium science capabilities. The achievement reflects years of planning, investment and mission-focused program development.

Why this matters: Plutonium science underpins critical national security missions, from nuclear nonproliferation to nuclear energy, forensics and weapons. The PluS Lab is equipped with advanced capabilities in molecular chemistry and materials science, molten-salt science and aqueous systems to directly support these core mission areas.

How they did it: Renovations to the PluS Lab were finished ahead of schedule and $1.2 million under budget, thanks to a collaboration with the Science and Technology Operations division. The upgraded facility now offers state-of-the-art analytical instruments, fume hoods and custom gloveboxes for small-scale plutonium-239 experiments.

Key capabilities: The PluS Lab is a unique resource within the U.S. Department of Energy complex for research in plutonium science, including separations and recycling technologies, novel material discovery, electrochemistry, advanced property measurements and more.

• Research will explore new plutonium compounds and novel plutonium separations, and it will advance analytical methods for plutonium-bearing compounds and materials.
• The facility’s unclassified setting will foster broad collaboration and workforce development.

Funding: U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration

LA-UR-25-29137