Oklo reaches a safety milestone for their new fuel facility

Oklo (OKLO) reached a new milestone with the U.S. Department of Energy after receiving approval of a Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis for its Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility.

The facility is planned for Idaho National Laboratory and will support fuel production for Oklo’s Aurora reactor. The approval marks a key step under the Department of Energy’s Fuel Line Pilot Program.

The safety approval represents roughly 50 percent completion of the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility design. It is the first project under the Fuel Line Pilot Program to reach this stage.

The Department of Energy is coordinating with Oklo to use existing infrastructure at Idaho National Laboratory to build the facility. The plant will produce a metallic fuel design intended for the first Aurora reactor.

The review is part of a broader Department of Energy effort to accelerate oversight of advanced reactor and fuel facilities through the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.

Recent activity under these programs includes Radiant submitting its DARK documentation for the Kaleidos reactor, meeting the intent of a preliminary safety analysis. Oklo also received approval of a Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for its A3F facility.

Valar Atomics achieved criticality on a pilot reactor core in coordination with the Department of Energy. Antares’s Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for its Mark-0 reactor was referenced during a $96 million Series B funding round.

Oklo has worked with the Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory since 2019. The company has used this coordination to advance through the Department’s licensing pathway.

Oklo is now shifting focus to physical construction of the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility. The company plans to submit its full Documented Safety Analysis near the end of construction.

The Department of Energy process differs from Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and does not include certain public and legal procedures. However, commercial deployment of reactors and fuel facilities still requires Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is involved in Department of Energy reviews conducted under the pilot programs. This coordination is intended to address regulatory issues earlier in the development process.