The US Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office has approved the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement (NSDA) for Oklo’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). AF3 was selected to take part in DOE’s Fuel Line Pilot Project.
The NSDA, the first to be awarded under the project, was approved in just under two weeks demonstrating “a new authorisation pathway that has the potential to unlock US industrial capacity, advance national energy security and create an accelerated and reproducible framework for scaling production capacity under Executive Order Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security.
“This approval marks clear progress toward demonstrating how we can repurpose used nuclear fuel to power the next generation of clean energy reactors,” said Jacob DeWitte, Oklo co-founder & CEO. “Advanced fuel fabrication and recycling technologies represent a significant unlock for our business, addressing fuel-supply challenges while transforming fuel economics and creating new revenue opportunities.”
A3F, to be sited at INL, will fabricate fuel for Oklo’s first commercial-scale powerhouse, the Aurora-INL, which was selected for the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program. Together, these facilities couple fuel production to power delivery for near-term commercial deployment of advanced nuclear energy.
DOE said the authorisation process provides a modernised approach to building and operating nuclear fuel production lines for research, development, and demonstration purposes, while also offering an accelerated route for advanced reactor developers.
Oklo recently broke ground for the Aurora-INL reactor which can be built and begin operating under a DOE authorisation pathway, potentially fast-tracking future commercial licensing by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo says it is on track to bring its first plant online at INL before the end of the decade.
The Aurora-INL is a sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses metal fuel and builds on the design and operating heritage of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), which ran in Idaho from 1964 to 1994. Oklo was awarded fuel recovered from EBR-II by the DOE in 2019 and aims to fabricate its initial core at the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at INL.
“Approval of the NSDA for Oklo’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility is an important step forward,” said Robert Boston, Manager of the DOE Idaho Operations Office. “We’re excited for companies selected for the Fuel Line Pilot Program to demonstrate how the United States can safely and efficiently scale the next generation of nuclear fuel manufacturing.”
Oklo has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), the management and operating contractor for INL, to expand collaboration on scientific and technological research and development in areas such as advanced fuel and materials work that are mutually beneficial and support Oklo’s commercial deployment.
The collaboration builds on Oklo’s strong partnership with INL and plans to utilise the Aurora-INL. While the Aurora powerhouse is designed for power production, it is also capable of generating fast neutrons and thereby generating valuable data through in-reactor irradiation experiments that can then be analysed at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC). This enables fast reactor irradiation testing in the US that has not taken place since EBR-II was closed. The data collected will support future fuel manufacturing improvements, cost reductions, and Oklo’s recycling efforts.
By generating new fast reactor data under commercial operating conditions, Oklo aims to accelerate how it refines and qualifies its fuel and materials by leveraging its vertically integrated approach of product deployment.
“This collaboration strengthens US leadership in advanced nuclear and demonstrates how Oklo’s model of deploying fast reactors can also accelerate learning,” said Jacob DeWitte. “We’re building our first plant as a fully capable commercial product; we’re also building it to learn faster, optimise faster, and keep driving down costs for future deployments.”
Under the MOU, Oklo and INL will collaborate on irradiation of advanced nuclear fuels and materials during Aurora-INL’s operating life which could be examined at INL to better understand how fuel and materials perform in a fast- spectrum reactor environment. The resulting data would help advance US fast reactor capabilities and nuclear fuel manufacturing.
“This will be a great example of how the assets of a national laboratory can be leveraged by private industry in order to accelerate technology development,” said Ronald Crone, Associate Director of the Materials and Fuels Complex at INL.
The collaboration was prompted by ongoing work supported by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) longstanding Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) as well as a recent project supported under the DOE’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) which helped Oklo and INL test design and logistical strategies that can be incorporated into Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse for irradiation and subsequent analysis.
However, Oklo has reported a net loss of $0.20 per share, compared with a loss of $0.08 per share a year earlier. The company attributed the rise to payroll, general business expenses & professional fees associated with capital market activity. The company also said that it has cash and cash equivalents of about $1.2bn.
Oklo reported a bigger quarterly loss and another quarter without revenue. Nevertheless, its stock was still up 2.3% in premarket trading amid bullish commentary from management and its robust balance sheet. Its stock has grown nearly fivefold this year, giving it a valuation of over $16bn.
During a conference call with analysts, management remained optimistic about commencing commercial operations of its Aurora reactor by 2027 or 2028. While Oklo’s website describes the EBR-II at length, it says nothing about its own fast reactor technology development. Currently, the only commercially operating liquid-metal fast reactors are in Russia, with experimental units in operation in China and India, all of which took decades to develop. In its Forward-Looking Statement, Oklo says: “There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Oklo will be those that Oklo has anticipated.”
