Oklo selects Siemens Energy to supply conventional island
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Under the agreement, Siemens Energy will supply the power conversion and supporting systems, fostering efficiencies through economies of scale. Oklo said that standardising equipment across its powerhouses is expected to result in cost savings in manufacturing, construction, operations, and maintenance. Utilising shared spare parts across deployment is expected to reduce maintenance downtime, enhance reliability, and improve overall performance, it added.
The signing of the agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies in December last year that designated Siemens Energy to potentially become Oklo's preferred supplier for rotating equipment of the power conversion system (conventional island) for the Aurora powerhouse. Under that MoU, Siemens Energy would also be positioned to provide consulting to support Oklo in design work on the conventional island.
Oklo said the signing of the preferred supplier agreement was "a key strategic development in its supply chain management". It added: "This agreement underscores Oklo's ambitions to bring cost-efficient advanced fission technology to market. Building on a previously signed Memorandum of Understanding, this binding agreement marks a crucial step in Oklo's vision to enhance production scalability, cost efficiency, and rapid deployment to meet growing customer demand."
Oklo, founded in 2013, plans to commercialise its liquid metal fast reactor technology in the Aurora powerhouse, a fast neutron reactor using heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity.
The reactor uses liquid metal as a coolant. Liquid metal's high boiling point allows the reactor to operate at high temperatures without being pressurised. This design enables the use of commonly available alloys, benefiting from existing large-scale supply chains already producing nearly identical parts.
"We prioritise cost in our engineering process to fully leverage the advantages of fast fission technology," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Our technology is based on proven designs, allowing us to utilise small, pre-fabricated, and non-pressurised components made from readily available materials and existing supply chains, further reducing costs and complexity."
Oklo has received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy for a prototype unit to be built at the Idaho National Laboratory.
