New Plutonium Science Laboratory serves critical national security missions
Center prepares for fiscal year 2026 operations
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
Share
Stay up to date
Subscribe to Stay Informed of Recent Science, Technology and Engineering Highlights from LANL
Subscribe NowMore STE Highlights Stories
STE Highlights Home
A surprising use for distorted data to glean hidden laws
Scientists explore the use of metastable data for machine learning to study complex systems
When magnetism becomes superconductivity's ally
In nickelate thin films, superconductivity vanishes — then reappears — as the magnetic field grows stronger
Making tiny glass parts? Try printing them
Los Alamos method builds small glass components layer by layer
Valley fever’s far-flung travels captured by machine learning
Los Alamos scientists study the genomes of fungi in complex environments to understand their impact
Society of Petroleum Engineers honors Los Alamos scientist for high-volume peer reviews
Meng is associate editor of 2 journals
Proton radiography team receives NNSA Defense Programs Award of Excellence
Plutonium experiments support the nation’s nuclear weapons program