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The license supports domestic capability to recover and prepare isotope materials used across medicine, research, advanced manufacturing, and national security, and enables Atomic Alchemy to begin initial commercial sales from its Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oklo Inc., (NYSE: OKLO) (Oklo), an advanced nuclear technology company, today announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a materials license to Oklo’s wholly owned subsidiary Atomic Alchemy to handle, process, and distribute isotopes. This is Oklo’s first NRC-issued license and supports the transition from design and planning to real-world execution and progress.
The license, granted to Atomic Alchemy after NRC review and onsite inspection of the Idaho facility, authorizes the company to receive, possess, use, store, and conduct chemical and/or mechanical processing, repackaging, manufacturing, and distribution activities involving up to 2 Curies (Cis) of Ra-226. It also authorizes possession, use, and storage of sealed sources of Co-60 and Am-241 for instrument and shield calibration and testing. By recovering and processing material such as disused radium sources, currently managed as waste, Atomic Alchemy expects to create a valuable feedstock to support medical isotope production, including targeted alpha therapy supply chains.
“Demand for critical isotopes is rising, but U.S. supply remains limited,” says Oklo CEO and co-founder Jacob DeWitte. “This work helps create a more resilient and dependable domestic supply chain of isotopes and supports the transition from early operations to durable, commercial isotope production in the United States.”
The isotopes will be received and processed at Atomic Alchemy’s Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory in Idaho Falls. Distribution activities are limited to appropriately authorized recipients consistent with NRC requirements.
Operating experience from the laboratory will help develop processes, procedures, and systems that can be applied to Atomic Alchemy’s planned multi-reactor isotope foundry. The foundry is planned to include up to four non-power Versatile Isotope Production Reactor (VIPR) systems with a capacity of around 15 MWth each. The light-water-cooled, pool-type reactor is intended to support production of isotopes for medical and healthcare, industrial, space, defense, and research applications.
About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast-fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, affordable energy at global scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert used nuclear fuel into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.