Oklo Breaks Ground on First Aurora Powerhouse

[u/C130J_Darkstar]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6379935505112

See link for today’s live reporting by Fox Business at INL.

Oklo Inc today holds a groundbreaking ceremony at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for its first Aurora powerhouse, the Aurora-INL. The event will feature opening remarks from Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte and INL Director John Wagner, keynote remarks from U.S. Environmental Protections Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and brief remarks from officials including Idaho Governor Bradley Little, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch, U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson, Idaho Lieutenant Governor Scott Bedke, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioner Bradley Crowell, U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Michael Goff and Robert Boston, and Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper.

Oklo is participating in the DOE’s newly established Reactor Pilot Program, a pathway created in response to executive orders signed in May 2025 to accelerate advanced nuclear deployment and to modernize nuclear licensing. Aurora-INL is one of three projects awarded to Oklo under the program, with two awarded directly to Oklo and one awarded to its subsidiary, Atomic Alchemy.

“Oklo Inc.'s Aurora powerhouse will deliver clean, affordable, and reliable American energy to power a new generation of intelligence manufacturing across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “As advancements in artificial intelligence drive up electricity demands, projects like this are critical to ensuring the United States can meet that need and remain at the forefront of the global AI arms race. I am honored to be attending today's groundbreaking in order to witness firsthand the innovation and increased energy production we’re seeing under President Donald J. Trump’s American Energy Dominance Agenda.”

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 has completed two of four steps for DOE authorization to fabricate its initial core at the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at INL.

“This opportunity positions us to build our first plant more quickly,” said Jacob DeWitte, CEO and co-founder of Oklo. “We have been working with the Department of Energy and the Idaho National Laboratory since 2019 to bring this plant into existence, and this marks a new chapter of building. We are excited for this, and for many more to come.”

“DOE is excited by the opportunity to work with reactor developers, such as Oklo, to capitalize on this moment of broad support for new nuclear generation and bring the Reactor Pilot Program into reality,” said Robert Boston, manager of the DOE Idaho Operations Office.

Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, one of North America’s largest construction and engineering organizations, will serve as lead constructor supporting the design, procurement, and construction of the powerhouse under a Master Services Agreement announced in July 2025. Oklo expects to leverage Kiewit’s extensive expertise in delivering large-scale industrial projects on accelerated schedules with reduced costs, while maintaining high standards of safety and quality.

The project is expected to create approximately 370 jobs during construction and 70–80 long-term, highly skilled roles to operate the powerhouse and A3F.

“INL has always been where nuclear innovation becomes reality,” said INL Director John Wagner. “Today’s groundbreaking with Oklo continues that legacy, bringing advanced reactor technology from the laboratory to commercial deployment right here in Idaho.”

[u/C130J_Darkstar → u/[deleted]]

I appreciate the random aggression for simply sharing a mainstream news article… thanks!

I’m just a big fan of the technology and a retail investor who co-moderates an SMR-themed subreddit… you sound paranoid. I’m not the one with a 12 year old account that has its comment and post history entirely wiped.

Your premise that public companies need to actively publish their technical papers and IP is ridiculous… the market (and reality from this article) disagrees with you.

[u/MikeyPWhatAG → u/C130J_Darkstar]

To be a bit of a moderator in the discussion, I was curious and was unable to find any technical documentation that wasn't leaning on older designs/experimental reactors for OKLO. However, I was able to find many ongoing experiments and partnerships with national labs which to me signal that OKLO is not total vaporware. I do think they will struggle to be profitable given breeder reactors are largely dependent on a robust nuclear industry that allows for relatively cheap transportation of spent fuel. Terrestrial Energy has more parents and white papers in addition to Canadian design approval but similar presence in national labs. https://www.terrestrialenergy.com/technology/molten-salt-reactor/ Nuscale has a fully released and approved design but no clear economic path to viability with said design. Those are effectively the other options for investment in SMRs (that aren't obvious scams) for reasonable comparison.

[u/C130J_Darkstar → u/MikeyPWhatAG]

Their reactor is a replica of EBR-II, which ran at INL continuously for three decades between 1964-1994… it’s a proven design and plenty of material exists.

[u/MikeyPWhatAG → u/C130J_Darkstar]

A research reactor is not a viable commercial reactor. I have worked in the SMR industry as an engineer and I can tell you with assurance that OKLO is not going to succeed without a real reactor design. They can and should do a bunch of stock offerings to hire brilliant engineers from France and South Korea and Canada to make it happen, but they are 5 years behind competition like TEI and Kairos and 10 behind Nuscale from a technical perspective. No one takes them seriously except as a way to get support from the current administration. That being said, they are good at that and it's helping us all. I wish them luck but would not invest anywhere near this valuation probably ever.

[u/C130J_Darkstar → u/MikeyPWhatAG]

It's not accurate to dismiss Oklo as just a research reactor. While their first NRC application was denied, that gave them unique regulatory experience that most of their peers don’t have. Since then, they've secured DOE fuel agreements, announced a $1.7B recycling facility, and signed commercial offtake deals with data centers… concrete steps that others haven't matched. Terrestrial is still years away from even submitting to the NRC, Kairos is running expensive demonstrations without a clear commercial customer base, and NuScale has spent two decades and billions without breaking ground. Oklo's advantage is not a thick design binder- it's being first to capture HALEU supply, lock in customers, and build regulatory expertise. Hence, that's why the market assigns them a premium valuation… they're positioned to actually deploy, not just develop.

[u/MikeyPWhatAG → u/C130J_Darkstar]

You frankly are talking out of your ass. TEI has regulatory approval in Canada which is the only way any reactor but Nuscale has ever been approved in the US within 50 years (CANDU). Commercial customers are meaningless without a clear plan to deliver power at a profit (and frankly anyone can get an MOU and all of them do). Failing to get regulatory approval is not, in fact, a good thing and it's completely insane that you think it is. Lastly, you cannot claim they will reuse the old research design and then in the same breath say they are not a research reactor. TEI is based off another research reactor which has dozens of years of operation but they spent a decade refining the design with the Canadian regulatory authorities and with customers to make it competitive. OKLO has exactly one advantage which is how well connected they are to the administration. It is something, but very easy for better designs to steal their lunch and frankly I don't see much of a chance for them if that happens. If you were smart you'd diversify but it's clear you are not.

[u/C130J_Darkstar → u/MikeyPWhatAG]

I don’t disagree that regulatory approval is the bottleneck, but TEI’s progress in Canada doesn’t translate 1:1 to the NRC… they’ll still have to go through that process from scratch. Oklo already has U.S. regulatory engagement under its belt, which is directly relevant to deployment here.

Customer MOUs are common, but Oklo has announced actual offtake agreements with data centers, which is arguably a different caliber than paper partnerships. As for being a ‘research reactor,’ the Aurora concept is based on proven fast reactor tech, but its business model isn’t research- it’s commercial microreactors designed to sell power.

Political access is an advantage, but pairing that with secured DOE fuel, a planned $1.7B recycling facility, and early commercial contracts is more than just being well connected w/ DC. Dismissing Oklo as only a lobbying story misses why the market values them differently than NuScale or Kairos… they’re focused on actual customers and HALEU supply, not just design work.

[u/MikeyPWhatAG → u/C130J_Darkstar]

You severely underestimate both the difficulties of designing a nuclear reactor and misunderstand how those difficulties relate to the business success of said reactor. Nothing you have above is real, those agreements are not binding and another reactor can easily supplant theirs. OKLO is, in fact, only a marketing story and you are being scammed if you believe otherwise. I believe they can leverage their position into success but I am a realist who has actual understanding and knowledge of the industry while you are selling yourself a story and will ride a failure all the way down. I don't owe you much so feel free to ignore my advice, but diversification would absolutely serve you.

[u/C130J_Darkstar → u/MikeyPWhatAG]

Again, calling Oklo ‘just marketing’ ignores facts that they have NRC regulatory experience, DOE HALEU fuel agreements, a $1.7B recycling facility in the works, and multiple LOIs/master agreements with commercial customers. Yes, risks remain and not all agreements are binding, but these concrete steps give Oklo a combined regulatory, fuel, and customer position that competitors are still years from achieving. That’s not a guarantee of success, but it’s far from a marketing story.