By Mackenzie Tatananni

Oklo said Tuesday that it had finished drilling to gather information about the proposed location of its first nuclear plant in what the company called a "pivotal step" toward the production of commercial power.

The clean-energy company has detailed at length its plans to construct its first Aurora powerhouse on the grounds of Idaho National Laboratory, one of the largest federally funded research labs in the U.S.

However, the completion of preparatory work at the site marked a significant development, the company said. This included the drilling of boreholes, or deep cavities in the Earth's crust, to evaluate conditions below the planet's surface.

Oklo specializes in small modular reactors, which produce less energy than traditional large reactors reactors but are easier to construct and deploy in response to ramping power demand. The company's proposed design is meant to run on nuclear waste and only requires refueling once every decade.

The site characterization work comes on the heels of a finalized memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy and a separate agreement with the Idaho National Laboratory to ensure Oklo follows environmental regulations.

Findings from the investigation will be included in Oklo's application for a combined license with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Once approved, the license will authorize the start-up to build and operate its first powerhouse.

Oklo received a site permit from the DOE in 2019 to build the Aurora facility. A year later, the company submitted a combined license application to the NRC, which was denied due to "insufficient technical information." A revised application was submitted in 2022 and rejected for the same reason.

CEO Jacob DeWitte has said Oklo remains on course to deliver commercial power by the end of 2027. In the company's latest shareholder letter, DeWitte noted that the company had "made big strides in 2025" by scaling its powerhouse to up to 75 megawatts from 50 megawatts.

The CEO cited the company's strategic moves to "unlock new revenue opportunities," which included partnering with RPower on an energy deployment deal and expanding into radioisotope production through the acquisition of Atomic Alchemy.

"The world is catching up to what we've known all along: Nuclear power is essential to a clean, dependable, and scalable energy future," DeWitte wrote.

The start-up is eyeing another location in Alaska that would allow Oklo to supply power to Eielson Air Force Base, as well as a DOE-owned site in Ohio where Oklo plans to build two more commercial plants.

Oklo is set to report first-quarter results after markets close on Tuesday. Shares tumbled in March after the latest report revealed a wider annual loss. Analysts noted at the time that the company likely would continue to burn through capital ahead of the commissioning of its first nuclear plant.

Oklo stock ended Monday's session up 2.7% at $28.85. Through Monday's close, the shares have gained 36% this year and 195% over the past 12 months.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2025 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.