U.S. Department of Energy Approves Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis of Oklo’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility as Assembly Begins at Idaho National Laboratory

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oklo Inc., (NYSE: OKLO) (Oklo), an advanced nuclear technology company, announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Idaho Operations Office has approved the Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA) for the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), marking the start of the assembly of the facility.

The PDSA for the A3F, which will fabricate fuel for Oklo’s first commercial-scale powerhouse, is the first facility to be approved under DOE’s Fuel Line Pilot Program. The previous procedural milestone, the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement, was approved in just under 2 weeks, demonstrating a new authorization pathway aimed at accelerating a reproducible framework for scaling production capacity following executive orders signed in May.

The PDSA marks the second of three safety-basis documents to be approved for the authorization of the A3F, with the next step being a Documented Safety Analysis (DSA), an update to the PDSA based on final design and construction. The DSA will be submitted during construction and updated to reflect the final build once the facility is completed. The final step includes a readiness review for startup of the facility.

The PDSA milestone demonstrates DOE’s and Oklo’s shared commitment to rigorous safety evaluation, transparency, and early design engagement while pursuing national energy and fuel security goals.

The A3F will fabricate fuel for Oklo’s first full-scale powerhouse, the Aurora-INL, which was selected for the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program. These facilities couple fuel production and power delivery for near-term commercial deployment of advanced nuclear energy.

“By advancing modern fuel fabrication and recycling, we’re addressing fuel-supply constraints, improving the economics of our powerhouses, and opening new long-term revenue streams for the business,” says co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. “We’re moving swiftly toward full deployment of this fuel facility where we will repurpose fuel from the legacy Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) for use in Oklo’s Aurora-INL.”

Oklo was granted access to EBR-II fuel material through a competitive DOE process launched in 2019. The same year, the company also received a site-use permit at INL for its first powerhouse.

About Idaho National Laboratory: Battelle Energy Alliance manages INL for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. INL is the nation’s center for nuclear energy research and development and also performs research in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and the environment. For more information, visit www.inl.gov. Follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

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.