Occlusion Nuclear Solutions Applauds Oklahoma's Selection as a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus Finalist

Occlusion Nuclear Solutions (OCNS), a Tulsa-based subsurface execution company, today welcomed the announcement that Oklahoma has been named one of five finalist states for the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus (NLIC) program. OCNS has served as the coordination lead for Oklahoma's private-sector coalition throughout the effort, working alongside the state and a group of industry and university partners to build the case for Oklahoma.

"Oklahoma has been an American energy leader for more than a century. That work continues now as Oklahoma enters the host agreement process.”— Wink Kopczynski, CEO, Occlusion Nuclear Solutions

“This is confirmation that the work Oklahoma's coalition has put in over the past several months is being recognized at the federal level,” said Taylor Coye, VP Strategic Affairs at OCNS. “Oklahoma is one of five finalists today. The host agreement negotiation ahead is where the real competition happens, and Oklahoma is ready for it.”

OCNS has coordinated the private-sector side of Oklahoma's effort since its early stages, working with the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment's office to bring together industry partners, universities, and state agencies around a shared proposal, aligned with federal priorities under Executive Order 14302, which promotes nuclear innovation, energy independence, and national security.

OCNS is currently executing the subsurface work for a deep borehole disposal demonstration underway in Cameron, Texas. That demonstration is viewed as a key proof point in Oklahoma's proposal, since permanent materials management is one of the core functions the NLIC campus is designed to include alongside power generation, fuel fabrication, fuel recycling, and medical isotope production for cancer research.

“The Cameron demonstration is where we are proving out the subsurface engineering behind this campus,” said Mike Orr, Chief Technology Officer at OCNS. “We are executing real emplacement and retrieval operations, not modeling them. That is the technical foundation Oklahoma is bringing to this competition.”

“Oklahoma has been an American energy leader for more than a century,” said Wink Kopczynski, CEO of OCNS. “Our role has been to help bring the private sector together around a shared vision for what comes next. That work continues now as Oklahoma enters the host agreement process.”

The proposed campus is projected to bring thousands of construction jobs, permanent high-wage positions in engineering, nuclear science, and operations, and billions of dollars in private-sector investment to Oklahoma. OCNS noted that the effort has drawn support at every level of Oklahoma government, including a unanimous House resolution passed March 31, 2026, and letters of support from the Governor, the Secretary of Energy, higher education institutions, and business leaders across the state.

OCNS will continue to serve as a coordination point for Oklahoma's private-sector coalition as the state enters host agreement negotiations with the Department of Energy in the coming months.

About Occlusion Nuclear Solutions
Occlusion Nuclear Solutions is a Tulsa-based subsurface execution company supporting the safe, secure, and fiscally responsible management of used nuclear fuel. OCNS is a named partner in a Department of Energy ARPA-E SCALEUP award focused on fuel recycling and deep borehole disposal integration, and serves as the coordination lead for Oklahoma's private-sector coalition supporting the state's Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus proposal.