Nuclear

Oklo a step closer to siting its first microreactor in Idaho

Site investigations at Oklo’s proposed microreactor site in Idaho will focus on geotechnical assessments, environmental surveys and infrastructure planning.
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Oklo a step closer to siting its first microreactor in Idaho
(Landscape view of Oklo's preferred site in Idaho. Image: Idaho National Laboratory.)

Advanced nuclear company Oklo announced the finalization of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct site investigations at its proposed microreactor site in Idaho.

Oklo is the only advanced fission company with a DOE site use permit. The site investigations enabled by this agreement will focus on geotechnical assessments, environmental surveys and infrastructure planning.

“Our partnership with the DOE has been instrumental. Beginning with the site use permit and fuel award in 2019,” said Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo. “Signing this MOA reflects our commitment to timely deployment and operational readiness while also helping to manage costs and maintain our project schedule.”

Oklo obtained a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the INL site in 2019. The company applied with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in March 2020 to build and operate the INL reactor. This was the first combined license application ever accepted by the NRC for an advanced non-light water reactor.,

In January 2024, the company announced that DOE had reviewed and approved the Safety Design Strategy (SDS) for its Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility at INL. The Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility is being designed to demonstrate the reuse of recovered nuclear material to support the reactor demonstration.

In its Q2 earnings call, Oklo told investors it had non-binding letters of intent for about 1,350 MW of microreactor capacity, a 93% increase from its 700 MW project pipeline in July 2023.

Of the 650 MW announced during the second quarter of this year, 600 MW were for data center projects. Earlier this year, Oklo signed a pre-agreement with data center colocation company Equinix to provide up to 500 MW of nuclear power. The company has signed an LOI with Wyoming Hyperscale to deliver 100 MW through its data centers.

Another notable agreement could result in Oklo providing 50 MW of power to oil & gas company Diamondback Energy in the Permian Basin in Texas.

The company is working to convert these LOIs into power purchase agreements toward the end of this year and beginning of next, the company said in recent filings to the SEC.

Oklo is developing next-generation nuclear power plants called “powerhouses.”

The company’s Aurora powerhouse design is a fast neutron reactor that would transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system and is designed to run on material from used nuclear fuel known as HALEU, or “high assay, low-enriched uranium.” The reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II and space reactor legacy.

The company plans to build its second and third plants in southern Ohio, on land owned by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI). Earlier this year, Oklo entered into land agreements with SODI, which built on the companies’ initial agreement from May 2023.

The Ohio and Idaho projects are for powerhouses at the 15 MW size. But more recently, there has been more interest in the company’s 50 MW offering, Oklo officials said.