Oklo gets LOIs for up to 750 MW of power for data centers

According to Oklo, the commitments expand the company’s customer pipeline to about 2,100 MW and are in addition to previously announced sites that could host Oklo reactors in Idaho, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming.

Flexible approach: Oklo says its Aurora sodium-cooled microreactor design can provide power to data centers “directly on-site or nearby” using 15 MW and 50 MW units that can be deployed in phases to minimize project risks and reduce financing costs. Oklo’s plan is to build, own, and operate its reactors and sell power—not reactors—to customers.

“The strong customer response reflects confidence in Oklo’s clean, reliable, and affordable power solutions,” said Jacob DeWitte, Oklo’s cofounder and chief executive officer. “Our approach helps enable customers to scale sustainably with reliable power aligned to their long-term goals.”

First at INL: Oklo obtained a site use permit in December 2019 to deploy its first microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory. Just last week, Oklo announced that it had received an environmental compliance permit allowing site characterization to begin at its preferred site on INL land. That follows completion of an environmental compliance process with the Department of Energy and INL and the recent finalization of a memorandum of agreement with the DOE, which initiates site characterization activities.

As previously reported, the DOE has also approved Oklo’s conceptual safety design report for its Aurora fuel fabrication facility, which will operate at INL to recycle high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) that has been recovered from used Experimental Breeder Reactor-II fuel.

Oklo began formal preapplication engagement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2016 and submitted a combined license application in March 2020, which the NRC later denied without prejudice, citing “information gaps.” The company is currently preparing an updated license application.