# US military turns stored radioactive waste into seabed power 2026-08-10T17:08:00+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Pentagon is repurposing decades-old radioactive strontium-90 from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, into an underwater power grid for drones and sensors. The material, from a never-deployed 1980s generator called BUP-500, was transferred to Zeno Power, a Washington and Seattle-based firm, under a partnership with the Department of Energy. The Times of India reports the transfer accelerates clean-out of a scheduled-to-be-demolished storage facility, saving taxpayer money and reducing liability. The project falls under the Pentagon's DEPTHS programme (Distributed Energy Provided Throughout the Seas), for which Zeno secured a $7.5 million contract in October 2023. Strontium-90 systems, paired with Stirling power conversion from Blue Origin and Sunpower, aim to charge autonomous submarines for up to 30 years without cables or servicing. Zeno is also developing similar technology for the lunar surface under a $15 million Nasa award. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: nuclear power, Oak Ridge, strontium-90, underwater drones, US military, Zeno Power Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/us-military-turns-stored-radioactive-waste-into-seabed-power/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/us-military-turns-stored-radioactive-waste-into-seabed-power/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.