Regulatory

Regulatory FAQs

• How does licensing a commercial reactor work in the U.S.?

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  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses the construction and operation of commercial reactors. License types include design certifications, early site permits, limited work authorizations, construction permits, operating licenses, and combined licenses (covering both construction and operation).

  Regardless of the license type, all review processes follow the same general progression: after an applicant submits to the NRC, the first step is the acceptance review process, wherein the NRC determines whether the application is complete and meets all necessary criteria. Once the application has been accepted for docketing, the NRC performs a technical review until there is reasonable assurance that they have met their mission and completed all required steps.

  If the NRC review is successful, the application is approved, and the license is issued.

• Why is Oklo pursuing the Part 52 licensing approach instead of Part 50?

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  From the beginning, Oklo has been pursuing a power-as-a-service business model, where Oklo sells power from its powerhouses directly to customers. With this business model, customers must neither provide capital commitment nor bear most project risks; they can simply purchase the energy product they need.

  Historically, nuclear energy plants have been designed by one company, constructed by another, and operated by yet another. The Part 50 pathway is ideal for this traditional model, allowing the individual permits and licenses to be issued to the entity performing each step. However, the Part 52 pathway enables greater deployment speed and repeatability for companies like Oklo that plan to design, construct, and operate their own facilities.

  The first combined license application serves as a reference, which can then be reused to reduce the scope of subsequent applications. Future reviews focus only on the content that varies from the reference, such as the environmental report.

  Oklo is pioneering this approach in the advanced nuclear industry: it remains the only advanced reactor company to submit a combined license application and the first to have that application accepted for review.

• Why is Oklo not pursuing a design certification?

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  Design certifications, an optional part of the Part 52 licensing approach, describe the reactor design without providing information regarding a specific site. Generally, a reactor designer that does not intend to own and operate the nuclear power plant applies for a design certification. The reactor designer can then market their certified design to potential utilities.

  Oklo does not intend to pursue a design certification because the company intends to sell power not our reactor design. Instead, Oklo’s repeatable combined license application approach covers site, design, and operating information at the same time.

• How does Oklo’s reactor design affect its regulatory process?

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  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations were primarily written for large light water reactors, which use fuel types and pressurized reactor vessels that have unique operating characteristics that require specific safety assessments and design criteria. The Aurora powerhouse is instead designed to take advantage of the demonstrated physics of previously operating metal-fueled sodium fast reactors such as the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II).

  These design choices lead to inherent, passive safety that simplifies the information the NRC is required to review in the license application. During abnormal operating events such as loss of cooling, the metal fuel in the Aurora powerhouse will heat up and thermally expand. This expansion reduces the number of reactions in the core, automatically reducing the heat generated in the reactor without the need for human intervention.

  Additionally, the liquid sodium metal that cools the core does not have to be highly pressurized. The passive safety of the Aurora powerhouse presents an opportunity to view Oklo’s design from a fundamentally different regulatory process perspective, even though the technology it employs has existed for decades. As a result, Oklo can pursue a combined license under 10 CFR Part 52 that allows for accelerated review times and faster deployment.