Oklo provides updates on DOE, NRC approvals

On March 17, Oklo released a series of four press releases in the span of a few hours containing some of the first substantial updates the company has given on its various approval processes with the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission since January.

Specifically, Oklo announced that it has received two nuclear safety design agreement (NSDA) approvals from the DOE and a materials license from the NRC.

Groves update: Oklo is currently pursuing two major projects in the isotope production space. This work is based on the reactor technology of its wholly owned subsidiary Atomic Alchemy, which it acquired in 2025. Atomic Alchemy's flagship reactor is the 15-MWt VIPR, or Versatile Isotope Production Reactor.

Atomic Alchemy was selected by the Reactor Pilot Program last year. Since then, Oklo has been working to deploy a facility in Texas that it calls the Groves Isotope Test Reactor. (The company interchangeably refers to this project as the Radioisotope Pilot Facility.)

Groves is a pool-type, water-cooled, nonpressurized isotope production reactor that uses low-enriched uranium fuel. Oklo describes it as a test platform designed to provide the operating experience needed for future production-scale deployments of VIPRs.

In Texas, site development and the structure housing the reactor have been completed, and the reactor tank has been installed. However, electrical, plumbing, and auxiliary equipment procurement work still needs to be completed.

The focus of Oklo's newest press release on Groves is the facility's NSDA, which has been approved by the DOE. To understand what this milestone actually means, it's important to remember the context of the Reactor Pilot Program's overall authorization framework.

Projects in the program must achieve four overarching milestones:

1. A company must first sign an other transaction agreement, or OTA, with the DOE, which signifies the formal partnership and the launch of authorization work. Oklo signed its OTA for Groves in January.
2. Next, the DOE must issue NSDA approval. This represents an agreement on both the safety and regulatory framework of a project and is the milestone Oklo just announced for Groves. Other companies in the program like Aalo Atomics and Antares Nuclear have already achieved this step.
3. The PDSA, or preliminary documented safety analysis, is the third step. Here, the DOE validates the company's safety case and establishes a pathway to final approval. This step has also been achieved by others in the program.
4. Finally, the DOE approves a DSA, or documented safety analysis, enabling a company to obtain final authorization and begin operating. No company in the program has yet achieved this step.

Considering the novelty of this process, it is difficult to estimate timelines for completion of the remaining steps, but it is notable that Oklo is two steps behind some of its competitors. However, the company maintains that it is on track to reach criticality by July 4 of this year.

NRC isotope project: In Idaho, Oklo is developing its Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory, which will progress exclusively through NRC licensing. According to another March 17 press release, Atomic Alchemy has received a materials license from the NRC allowing it to handle, process, manufacture, and distribute a limited amount of select isotopes. Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said that-now with a materials license-the Idaho facility "is expected to make first revenue this year."

Oklo does not yet have an operational reactor at this Idaho facility. In fact, the company withdrew its NRC construction permit application for its planned deployment of four VIPRs at the lab-a project that was referred to as Meitner-1. The company explained that it is instead focusing its reactor-building efforts on DOE authorization first in what it calls a "learn-first-then-scale strategy."

The isotope work the lab is now licensed to do will help it gain operating experience for its planned future deployment of up to four NRC-approved VIPRs. No timeline has been given for when those reactors may come on line.

Power update: In its third press release, Oklo announced that it has signed an OTA for its Aurora Powerhouse being built at Idaho National Laboratory. After entering into this OTA, the DOE also approved the company's NSDA, and Oklo requested that it immediately begin reviewing its PDSA for the Aurora. Oklo initially broke ground on this project in September 2025.

Presentation highlights: Oklo's final March 17 announcement was of the publication of its 2025 financial results and a general progress update. In a related conference call, Oklo gave an extensive breakdown of each of its projects across the isotope, fuel, and energy sectors, including updates on its DOE-backed Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility, its tentative deconversion and enrichment partnership with Centrus Energy, its 1.2 GW deal with Meta, and its Tennessee Valley Authority partnership on a possible fuel recycling facility.

As extensive as this list is, there was one noticeable absence. Through the Reactor Pilot Program, Oklo was selected for three total projects. Those three projects are the Aurora Powerhouse, Groves, and a third reactor called Pluto, which Oklo has described as a plutonium-fueled fast reactor. Across the presentation, no mentions were made of this third project.

In an interview on CNBC's "Money Movers," DeWitte was asked if fuel sourcing, regulatory goals, or financing, was the largest focus on Oklo's to-do list. DeWitte responded that for now, the company's main focus is construction. "We're in full build mode on a number of fronts, and [Groves] is the one that is going to come on line first."