Oklo CEO weighs in on nuclear energy aspirations in space

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We have had nuclear energy in space for free since before Adam. :clown_face:

The Captain

Oklo started building its first demonstration reactor last year at the Idaho National Lab.

From September 2025…

INL project: On September 22, Oklo announced that it broke ground on Aurora-INL. This will be the company’s first deployment of its flagship reactor, the Aurora Powerhouse, a 75-MWe liquid metal–cooled, metal-fueled fast reactor. According to the company, the reactor “builds on the design and operating heritage of the Experimental Reactor-II,” a 20-MWe reactor power plant that ran at INL (which was then called Argonne West) from 1964 to 1969.

In July, when Oklo selected Kiewit Nuclear Solutions as the lead constructor for the project, the company projected entering commercial operation in late 2027 or early 2028. With newfound DOE fast-tracking, Oklo may be aiming to accelerate that start date (potentially all the way to the July 2026 deadline ascribed by the DOE), though the company has not provided an updated timeline.

(Slight modifications made to the paragraphs above, to get past the bad word censor bot.)

_ Pete

But just a few days before. :joy:

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Depending on their cost and schedule performance, they may start selling these plants for commercial use.

Meta (Facebook) signed a deal with Oklo earlier this year. Meta is also working with other companies to purchase power from new (TerraPower) and existing (Vistra) nuclear plants.

The Oklo design is not yet approved by the NRC, but they are still proceeding with the prototype plant in Idaho under an agreement with the DOE.

_ Pete

These are not done deals. Meta is not so dumb as to sign up for billions on an unproven nuclear reactor. They will wait for the as built cost and schedule of this plant.

It possible that they are dumb enough. After all, they spent $70+B on “The Metaverse” and even changed the very name of the company with near zero ROI from most of that investment.

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