Licensing of Oklo pilot reactor facilities advances

Oklo announced that it has signed a Department of Energy (DOE) Other Transaction Agreement to support the design, construction, and operation of its first reactor, the Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) under DOE's Reactor Pilot Program (RPP). The DOE Idaho Operations Office subsequently approved the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for the fast-fission power plant, and Oklo immediately requested DOE commence review of its Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA). The Nuclear Safety Design Agreement is the first step under DOE's Reactor Pilot Program authorisation licensing pathway.

The Reactor Pilot Program programme, announced in June 2025, aims to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs that will be authorised by the DOE at sites located outside of the national laboratories. Part of the Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May, its goal is "to construct, operate, and achieve criticality of at least three test reactors using the DOE authorisation process by July 4, 2026". Oklo plans to subsequently pursue Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing to support commercial operations.

"With the OTA (Other Transaction Agreement) signed and the NSDA (Nuclear Safety Design Agreement) approved, the Aurora powerhouse at INL (Aurora-INL) enters the next phase of project execution under DOE oversight after initial groundbreaking in September," Oklo said.

"The OTA sets the programme structure, while the design agreement reflects DOE's rigorous authorisation process and safety-first approach," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "DOE's pathway for the Aurora-INL supports a stepwise approach to deploying our first powerhouse while we continue progressing our engagement for future commercial licensing by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

Oklo's Aurora powerhouse is a fast neutron reactor that uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. Building on the design and operating heritage of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), which ran in Idaho from 1964 to 1994, it uses metallic fuel to produce electricity and usable heat, and can operate on fuel made from fresh HALEU or used nuclear fuel.

The Aurora-INL is supported by Oklo's broader Idaho work, such as the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at INL, which will fabricate the first fuel assemblies for the Aurora-INL. DOE Idaho approved the A3F Nuclear Safety Design Agreement in November 2025 and the A3F PDSA in December under DOE's Advanced Nuclear Fuel Line Pilot Program.

"DOE Idaho is committed to enabling safe, disciplined progress from design to demonstration," said Robert Boston, Manager of the DOE Idaho Operations Office. "With the Aurora powerhouse NSDA - alongside the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility - we're supporting an integrated Idaho effort that can help scale domestic nuclear capability for the next generation of secure and reliable energy."

Radioisotope pilot facility

The DOE has also approved the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for Atomic Alchemy's Groves Isotopes Test Reactor in Texas, under the Reactor Pilot Program. The Nuclear Safety Design Agreement approval for Oklo's wholly owned subsidiary follows the signing of the OTA for the facility in January. Atomic Alchemy will now submit its Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis for review.

_{A render of Atomic Alchemy's radioisotope pilot facility (Image: Hillside Architecture)}

"With DOE's approval, we are making meaningful progress in the development of this isotope facility," DeWitte said. "This plant will help us gather critical data, refine our processes, and apply those lessons to subsequent licensing submissions and future deployments."

Atomic Alchemy will use the Radioisotope Pilot Facility - located near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas - to lay the groundwork for future commercial plants that make medical and research radioisotopes in the USA. These radioisotopes are essential for diagnosing cancer, treating disease, powering medical research, and supporting national security. Atomic Alchemy is targeting criticality for the Groves facility by 4 July this year.

The company has also announced that the NRC has issued it with a materials licence to handle, process, and distribute isotopes. "This is Oklo's first NRC-issued licence and supports the transition from design and planning to real-world execution and progress," it noted.

The licence, granted to Atomic Alchemy after NRC review and onsite inspection of the Idaho facility, authorises the company to receive, possess, use, store, and conduct chemical and/or mechanical processing, repackaging, manufacturing, and distribution activities involving up to 2 Curies of radium-226. The isotopes will be received and processed at Atomic Alchemy's Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory in Idaho Falls. The licence also authorises possession, use, and storage of sealed sources of cobalt-60 and americium-241 for instrument and shield calibration and testing. By recovering and processing material such as disused radium sources, currently managed as waste, Atomic Alchemy expects to create a valuable feedstock to support medical isotope production, including targeted alpha therapy supply chains. 

"Operating experience from the laboratory will help develop processes, procedures, and systems that can be applied to Atomic Alchemy's planned multi-reactor isotope foundry," Oklo said. "The foundry is planned to include up to four non-power Versatile Isotope Production Reactor (VIPR) systems with a capacity of around 15 MWt each. The light-water-cooled, pool-type reactor is intended to support production of isotopes for medical and healthcare, industrial, space, defence, and research applications."