Nuclear Energy

Fission power and nuclear fuel recycling company Oklo has received letters of intent and is partnering with two major data centre providers to deliver up to 750 MW of nuclear power for data centres across the US.

The California company, backed by Sam Altman, the chief executive officer of US artificial intelligence company OpenAI, said the commitments expand its customer pipeline to approximately 2,100 MW.

Oklo said that under the letters of intent it will work with one of the fastest-growing data centre companies to deploy its nuclear plants in select markets, addressing the provider’s critical need for sustainable, reliable power.

“This collaboration supports Oklo’s expanding footprint, including its announced sites in Idaho, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming, reinforcing the company’s commitment to advancing clean, resilient power options nationwide,” a statement said.

Oklo’s Aurora nuclear power plant consists of a small fast neutron fission reactor with integrated solar panels. Aurora can produce up to 15 MW of power and operate for 10 years or longer before refuelling. It can also generate heat for industrial applications.

It uses metallic fuel and can operate on fuel made from fresh high assay low-enriched uranium (Haleu) or used nuclear fuel.

Fast neutron reactors offer the prospect of vastly more efficient use of uranium resources and the ability to burn actinides, which are otherwise the long-lived component of high-level nuclear waste. They can extract more energy from uranium, use less mined uranium and convert unused uranium into new fuel.

Altman is Oklo’s chairman. The company went public in May through a merger with his AltC Acquisition Corp.

Earlier this month Oklo said it had secured an environmental compliance permit from the US Department of Energy and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for its nuclear power plant site in the US.

The company said in a statement that the permit is a significant milestone as it advances its plans to deliver the first commercial advanced fission power plant in the US, at the INL site.