NRC receives construction application for isotope production reactor

Atomic Alchemy, which was acquired by Oklo in 2024, began site characterization work at INL in June for its 15-MWt light water Versatile Isotope Production Reactor (VIPR), which the company hopes to use to supply isotopes to the medical, space, defense, and industrial sectors.

The application: Atomic Alchemy submitted a preliminary safety analysis report for the facility, which would include up to fourVIPR reactor systems, to the NRC on September 12. With a design that is comparable to existing pool-type research reactors, VIPR can produce more than 40 isotopes with minimal operational costs, the company. has said.

According to the NRC, Atomic Alchemy expects to submit the environmental portion of its application in the next few months. The company will have to submit separate operating license applications in the future.

Next steps: NRC staff is reviewing the application to determine if it is complete and acceptable for processing. If the application is determined to be sufficient, the staff will docket it and start a detailed technical review. The NRC will then publish a notice of opportunity to request an adjudicatory hearing on the application before the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

Information about the NRC’s interactions with Atomic Alchemy regarding its VIPR design is available on the NRC website.