NEWS

INL officials met with Texas-based Aalo Atomics on a 1-acre parcel inside the INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex Thursday morning for the groundbreaking of Aalo-X, the first experimental extra modular nuclear reactor.

The race to bring test reactors on line by July 4, 2026, got a boost today when the Department of Energy unveiled the names of 10 companies selected for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program—a new pathway that allows reactor authorization outside national labs

Oklo, a nuclear startup backed by Sam Altman, has received approval from the Department of Energy to begin site investigation work for its planned microreactor at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls.

A scan of multiple announcements by companies developing microreactors, e.g., less than 20 MW of electrical generation capacity, shows that nine of them, so far, have developed or are in the process of developing arrangements with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to test their designs and, for some, also the fuels for their reactors.

Oklo is moving quickly toward commercializing its Aurora small modular reactor with major partnerships and regulatory milestones that signal a new era of clean, resilient power for hyperscale data centers and industrial customers.

Developer Oklo aims to show 75-MW facility as flexible energy power source, with deployment expected by early 2028, it said.

With multiple applications on the cards, the reactor could see its first deployment in Canada following an agreement with Saskatchewan Research Council to explore industrial, research and energy use applications.

Oklo Inc., and Liberty Energy Inc., launched a strategic alliance to accelerate integrated power solutions for large-scale, high-demand customers, including data centers, industrial facilities, and utility-scale sites.

California-based liquid metal fast reactor developer Oklo and Vertiv will collaborate on modular, energy-efficient power and cooling solutions and reference designs developed specifically to support data centres driven by nuclear power.

The INL has partnered with Microsoft to apply Azure cloud and AI technologies to streamline the complex process of nuclear reactor licensing and permitting.