Pre-construction for nuclear plant at Idaho site expected to begin this year
US advanced nuclear technology company Oklo has selected Kiewit Nuclear Solutions as the lead constructor for its first commercial Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho.
Kiewit Nuclear Solutions, a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, one of North America’s largest construction and engineering organisations, will begin to support the design, procurement, and construction of the Aurora plant at INL, a project known as Auroura-INL.
Oklo said pre-construction is expected to begin in 2025 and commercial operations targeted for late 2027 to early 2028.
“We’ve completed key pre-construction milestones, including site characterisation work in Idaho, in partnership with the US Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and chief executive officer of Oklo.
“Advanced reactors will largely be able to be constructed differently than legacy plants, and a key pathway to realising the economic benefits associated with that is to modernise how we design, procure, and build these plants.”
California-based Oklo, which is backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, an early-stage investor in the company, is advancing through the licensing process for deployment of its 75 MW Aurora nuclear powerhouse at INL.
The Aurora consists of a small fast neutron fission reactor with integrated solar panels. The company says Aurora has a smaller and simpler design than many other small reactors.
Fast neutron reactors offer the prospect of vastly more efficient use of uranium resources and the ability to burn actinides, which are otherwise the long-lived component of high-level nuclear waste. They can extract more energy from uranium, use less mined uranium and convert unused uranium into new fuel.
In May Oklo signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power outlining plans to collaborate on the development and global deployment of Oklo’s reactors.
