DOE signs two more OTAs in Reactor Pilot Program

Some context: In August 2025, the DOE officially selected ten companies for the Reactor Pilot Program, a new pathway allowing projects to progress through accelerated DOE authorization rather than standard Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing. Originally, the DOE aimed to have three reactors on line within a year, but Energy Secretary Chris Wright pulled that goal back to one or two reactors at the 2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo.

Nevertheless, the race has been on since company selections were made official last summer, with a constant flow of announcements coming from many of the involved projects.

Terrestrial Energy and Oklo are not the first program participants to sign OTAs with the DOE. Aalo Atomics, Deep Fission, Last Energy, Natura Resources, and Standard Nuclear—which is involved in the related Fuel Line Pilot Program—have also announced OTAs.

It comes as no surprise that more companies involved in these authorization programs are entering into these agreements. OTAs are unique and valuable tools for public-private collaboration. Because they are not standard contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, OTAs are not subject to some regulations like the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Parties involved generally cite their flexibility as a primary benefit.

Oklo details: Oklo is a unique case within the framework of the Reactor Pilot Program. Where the other companies involved each have one associated project, Oklo has three: its Aurora Powerhouse, its Pluto reactor, and a third reactor that is being led by Oklo subsidiary Atomic Alchemy.

Aurora-INL is a 75-MWe liquid metal–cooled, metal-fueled fast reactor with a long and complicated history. Oklo first entered preapplication discussions in 2016 for a 1.5-MW version of the reactor. The eventual license application for that project was denied by the NRC in 2022. In September 2025, the company finally broke ground on the project (now authorized by the DOE and significantly scaled up in size) at Idaho National Laboratory.

There is little publicly available information regarding the Pluto reactor, which Oklo has described as a plutonium-fueled fast reactor.

The current OTA supports Oklo’s third reactor, which falls under the leadership of Atomic Alchemy, acquired by Oklo in 2024.

In June 2025, Oklo announced that it had begun site characterization work at INL for a commercial radioisotope production facility. At the time, it was not officially confirmed that this work was related to the Reactor Pilot Program.

In its most recent announcement, Oklo raised more questions than it answered. The company stated that it has withdrawn its previously submitted NRC construction permit application for its Meitner-1 commercial radioisotope production facility. According to the NRC, the Meitner-1 is a “Nonpower Production and Utilization Facility (NPUF) that can house four Versatile Isotope Production Reactors (VIPRs).” The VIPR, Atomic Alchemy’s foundational reactor design, is a 15-MWt light water reactor.

Instead, this OTA is supporting the newly announced Radioisotope Pilot Facility, which Oklo said will “lay the groundwork for future commercial plants that make medical and research radioisotopes in the United States.”

Assumedly, this new facility will still use Atomic Alchemy’s VIPR technology, though this was not confirmed by Oklo in its announcement. Whether or not this project will be sited at INL (and whether it is related to the previously announced site characterization work) is also currently unknown.

Terrestrial Energy details: Comparatively straightforward in its collaboration, Terrestrial Energy has only one DOE-authorized project, Project Tetra. The Tetra reactor at the core of the project is an integral molten salt reactor. Terrestrial Energy’s 390-MWe IMSR plant is designed to use standard assay, low-enriched uranium tetrafluoride (UF₄)–based fuel.

“The agreement sits on our development center-path, allowing the company to expedite key elements of its program to prepare licensing applications for commercial plant operation,” said Simon Irish, Terrestrial Energy’s CEO. As of now, the project’s siting and timeline details remain unknown.