Concept art of the Aurora Powerhouse. (Image: Oklo)
The Department of Energy’s Idaho Operations Office has approved the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement (NSDA) for Oklo Inc.’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at Idaho National Laboratory. The A3F is being built to fabricate fuel assemblies for Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse, a liquid metal–cooled, metal-fueled fast reactor with a maximum power of 75 MWe.
The Aurora Powerhouse is being designed to operate on high-assay low-enriched uranium as well as recycled nuclear fuel. Oklo plans to have its first commercial-scale Aurora reactor operating at INL in late 2027 or early 2028.
Pilot projects: The DOE previously selected the Aurora Powerhouse for participation in the agency’s Reactor Pilot Program and Advanced Nuclear Fuel Line Pilot Program. The first NSDA to be approved for the Fuel Line Pilot Program was the A3F. The NSDA approval came in less than two weeks, demonstrating “a new authorization pathway that has the potential to unlock U.S. industrial capacity, advance national energy security, and create an accelerated and reproducible framework for scaling production capacity,” according to Oklo.
Fuel economics: Jacob DeWitte, cofounder and CEO of Oklo, said the NSDA approval “marks clear progress toward demonstrating how we can repurpose used nuclear fuel to power the next generation of clean energy reactors. Advanced fuel fabrication and recycling technologies represent a significant unlock for our business, addressing fuel-supply challenges while transforming fuel economics and creating new revenue opportunities.”
Scale the next generation: Robert Boston, manager of the DOE Idaho Operations Office, said that the NSDA approval “is an important step forward. We’re excited for companies selected for the Fuel Line Pilot Program to demonstrate how the United States can safely and efficiently scale the next generation of nuclear fuel manufacturing.”
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