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Oklo Breaks Ground on Aurora Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory

A DOE pilot program lets the company begin under department oversight before pursuing an NRC commercial license.

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INSERT ART. Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse is a vertically oriented compact passive fast-spectrum reactor derived from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) that uses liquid metal as a coolant. The company recently uprated its design’s capacity offerings to 15 MWe and 100 MWe. The compact fast reactor uses a high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) metallic uranium-zirconium fuel enriched to about 19%. Courtesy: Oklo

Overview

  • Oklo started construction at INL on its Aurora-INL powerhouse, described as one of the first commercial-scale advanced reactors to move forward in the U.S. in decades.
  • The company is participating in DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program, which targets at least three advanced reactors operating by July 4, 2026.
  • The Aurora design is a sodium-cooled fast reactor using metal fuel, drawing on EBR-II technology, and is planned to produce up to 75 MWe.
  • DOE allowed Oklo in 2019 to use recycled EBR-II fuel, and the company says it has completed two of four approvals needed to begin making that fuel in Idaho.
  • Officials at the ceremony included EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, NRC Commissioner Bradley Crowell, DOE’s Michael Goff and Robert Boston, and Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper, and the project is expected to create about 370 construction jobs and 70–80 long-term roles.