- Aalo Completes Non-Nuclear Prototype of 50 MW SMR
- DOD Selects Eight Firms to Supply Advanced SMRs for Military Bases
- DOE to Release HALEU to Five Advanced Reactor Developers
- Czech Republic And South Korea to Sign Dukovany New-Build Contract
- UK Prime Minister ‘Ready to Sign Off’ on Sizewell C Nuclear Project
- Shanghai Fund to Invest $1.4 Billion in State-Backed Nuclear Fusion Company
- Fusion Energy Test Center Slated for Eastern Washington
Aalo Completes Non-Nuclear Prototype of 50 MW SMR
- New Breed of Reactor Is Purpose-Built for AI and Data Centers
(NucNet) contributed to this report: Aalo Atomics unveils the first non-nuclear prototype of its Aalo-1 reactor as well as its state of the art 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Austin, TX. These developments represent a critical step toward achieving the company’s goal of providing data centers with power from nuclear energy.
The Aalo-1 reactor is the core component of the company’s Aalo Pod XMR, a 50 MWe power plant purpose-built for data centers. Each Aalo Pod contains five 10 MWe Aalo-1 reactors, is fully modular (both the reactor and the plant) and can scale seamlessly to gigawatt scale. The company goal is compete with natural gas by producing electricity at $0.03/kWh.
According to the company, its liquid sodium metal design is able to extract heat from the reactor core much faster than water or gas. This means Aalo reactors can produce up to 10x more energy than other nuclear technologies of a similar physical size. Additionally, Aalo-1 reactors are sodium-cooled and use proven-safe, readily available low enriched uranium fuel (LEU+).
With a small physical footprint and no need for external water sources, the Aalo Pod is easy to co-locate onsite with the data center. Aalo’s ability to mass manufacture and ship the entire Aalo Pod via standard shipping methods significantly shortens installation time. By co-locating the power plant at the data center, a getting a grid connection, which can take two or more years, is no longer a barrier to success. Similarly, unlike a gas powered data center, no pipeline connections, with their own wait times, are needed to go to work on day one.
According to Aalo’s Regulatory Engagement Plan submitted to the NRC (ML24193A003) in July 2024 the nuclear and environmental safety standards for each unit of the power plant will be based on Aalo Atomics’ flagship product, a 100-MWe energy generating unit consisting of 10 independent Aalo-1 reactors, each capable of producing 10 MWe, that are operated with and connected to shared operational systems (e.g., control room) and electricity generating systems (e.g., turbine generator).
“We believe that to address today’s massive data center market demand, another category of nuclear reactor is needed, one that blends the benefit of the factory manufacturing of microreactors, the power levels of SMRs, and the economic targets of a large reactor,” said Matt Loszak, CEO, Aalo Atomics. “We call this category XMR, with the “X” representing extra flexibility and modularity.
“We are aiming to do for nuclear reactors what Henry Ford did for cars,” continued Loszak. “Currently, many utilities are shying away from building large nuclear plants, because of the uncertainty in cost and schedule. By making reactors in factories, we make the process fast, repeatable, and predictable, decreasing costs without sacrificing quality or safety.”
Aalo says it has the objective to break ground on its prototype nuclear reactor next year. It has selected a site in Texas for non-nuclear testing. Recently, it was selected as one of four partners to develop up to 1 GW of nuclear energy generation capacity at the Texas A&M Rellis Campus.
In December 2024 the Department of Energy signed an MOU with Aalo which identified a location at Idaho National Laboratory as a potential site for Aalo to build a new reactor facility. The Aalo SMR is based on the INL ‘Marvel” R&D project. Also, the firm hired the project director from the INL to join its commercialization effort.
Aalo has also signed a non-binding MOU with Idaho Falls Power that all calls for deployment of seven factory-built Aalo-1 reactors, totaling 75 MW of power generation.
Last August the firm raised $27 million in Series A funding. Aalo has secured over $36M in funding to-date from multiple investors including 50Y, Valor Equity Partners, Harpoon Ventures, Crosscut, SNR, Alumni Ventures, Preston Werner, Earth Venture, Garage Capital, Wayfinder, Jeff Dean, and Nucleation Capital.
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DOD Selects Eight Firms to Supply Advanced SMRs for Military Bases
To ensure U.S. energy dominance, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), with the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force, launched the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) program.
First announced in summer 2024, the program will allow for the design and build of fixed on-site micro reactor nuclear power systems on select military installations to support global operations across land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace. The Department of Defense team selected eight companies to be eligible to demonstrate the ability to deliver compliant, safe, secure, and reliable nuclear power.
The companies are now eligible to receive contract awards to provide commercially available dual use micro reactor technology at various DOD installations. Selected companies for the ANPI program include:
- Antares Nuclear, Inc
- BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
- General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
- Kairos Power, LLC
- Oklo Inc.
- Radiant Industries Incorporated
- Westinghouse Government Services
- X-Energy, LLC
All of the advanced reactor designs selected for the DOD program share several common features. They are small, transportable, don’t require water for cooling, and have long fuel cycles on average 5-10 years.
Where the designs differ is in power ratings. Four of the designs fit the limits of micro reactors, e.g., less than 20 MWe. However, the other four vary For instance, X-Energy’s HTGR is rated at 80 MWe and Oklo just announced a 75 MWe offering.
In choosing a variety of power ratings, DOD is signaling that different military installations will have a variety of demand profiles for power. DOD appears to be establishing a catalog of offerings for base commanders to select for their operations. Ordering one ‘off-the-shelf- won’t be as easy as picking up a hot sandwich at a convenience store, but avoiding a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution is a smart move.
The ANPI project directly supports Executive Order (E.O.) 14156 – Declaring a National Energy Emergency and E.O. 14154 – Unleashing American Energy