Eighty years after J. Robert Oppenheimer's chain reaction lit up the New Mexico desert, Oklo Inc (NYSE:OKLO) is channeling that spirit. But this time it’s to build power data centers, not bombs.
Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte told investors the company's Idaho project is moving at "Manhattan Project–level speeds.」
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On the company’s third-quarter earnings call, DeWitte acknowledged a Department of Energy fast-track that allows Oklo to build reactors while it's still being licensed.
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From Red Tape To Green Lights
Under the DOE's new authorization framework, Oklo no longer needs to complete the lengthy NRC licensing process before breaking ground. "It's taken a huge amount of regulatory risk off the table," DeWitte said. That the shift allows it to "move into build mode and iterate faster."
Construction has already begun at the Idaho National Laboratory, where Oklo aims to bring its Aurora powerhouse online by 2027–2028.
Fueling The Future — Literally
Beyond speed, Oklo's other breakthrough is in fuel. The company plans to convert a government stockpile of plutonium — material once slated to be "mixed with kitty litter and buried in the desert" — into advanced reactor fuel.
DeWitte called the move "a game-changer," turning a $20 billion liability into a bridge fuel that could help jumpstart the U.S. nuclear supply chain.
Manhattan Spirit, Silicon Ambition
The startup has been selected for three DOE Reactor Pilot Program projects. This includes a plutonium-fueled test system and a fuel fabrication facility to support Aurora. DeWitte said the DOE's approach has brought "Manhattan Project–level speeds" back to nuclear construction — but with 21st-century goals.
"This is the next chapter of nuclear," he said, "where we can build, learn, and license all at once."
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