Oklo Inc.
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Nuclear Energy |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
|
Number of employees | 100 (2024) |
| Website | oklo.com |
Oklo Inc. is an advanced nuclear technology company based in Santa Clara, California.[1][2] Founded in 2013 by Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Cochran, both graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the company designs and deploys compact fast reactors with the aim of providing clean, safe and affordable energy. Its chairman is OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman.[3]
The company’s name is derived from Oklo, a region in the country of Gabon, Africa where self-sustaining nuclear fission reactions occurred approximately 1.7 billion years ago.[4]
Oklo's main product is the Aurora powerhouse, a compact fast neutron reactor designed to generate 15 MWe of electrical power. Building on over 400 years of combined fast reactor operational history, the Aurora is intended for off-grid applications, including data centers, artificial intelligence, remote communities, industrial sites, and military bases. It can operate for up to 10 years without refueling. Oklo has signed letters of intent with Diamondback Energy and Wyoming Hyperscale to provide emission-free electricity with its fission reactors for Diamondback’s Permian Basin operations and Wyoming Hyperscale’s data center campus, respectively, over 20-year periods. [5] [6]
Oklo also produces radioisotopes through its nuclear fuel recycling process and fast reactor technology.[7] These radioisotopes have a wide range of applications, including medical diagnostic imaging and cancer treatment; industrial uses like non-destructive testing and process control; and energy applications including radioisotope thermoelectric generators, nuclear batteries and fusion research.[8][9][10]
The Aurora powerhouse utilizes heat pipe cooling, similar to the technology used in the NASA Kilopower reactor.[11] It features a large negative temperature reactivity coefficient and lacks pumps and valves. The reactor is designed to operate without the need for nuclear refueling intervals or associated core exposure, and its core is buried underground for added safety.[12] In its safety design presentation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Oklo referenced a study of the EBR-II, a different reactor technology, which was described as being "inherently protected without requiring emergency power, safety systems, or operator intervention".[12]
The company has received venture capital from various investors, including Hydrazine Capital, founded by Sam Altman with Peter Thiel as its sole limited partner; Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz; Ron Conway of SV Angels; Kevin Efrusy of Accel Partners; and Tim Draper of Draper Associates.[13]
In July 2023, it was announced that the company planned to go public via a special purpose acquisition company at a value of $850 million.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ Confino, Paolo (July 11, 2023). "Sam Altman just took a nuclear energy startup public for $500 million. Its CEO wants to provide 'energy at planetary scales for a billion-plus years'". Fortune.
- ^ Patel, Sonal (May 18, 2023). "Oklo's Next Two Nuclear Power Plants Planned for Southern Ohio". Power.
- ^ Sigalos, Hayden; Field, MacKenzie (2024-05-10). "Sam Altman's nuclear energy company Oklo plunges 54% in NYSE debut". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ Judge, Peter. "Sam Altman-backed nuclear reactor firm Oklo to go public via SPAC". Data Centre Dynamics.
- ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-01/us-shale-drillers-seek-to-power-oil-patch-with-small-nukes
- ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-24/altman-backed-oklo-sees-rising-nuke-demand-from-data-centers</ref
- ^ https://www.ans.org/news/article-6041/oklo-to-collaborate-with-atomic-alchemy-on-isotope-production/
- ^ https://www.britannica.com/story/how-radioactive-isotopes-are-used-in-medicine
- ^ https://www.nde-ed.org/NDETechniques/Radiography/radiationsources.xhtml
- ^ https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-radioactive-products-we-use-every-day
- ^ Sonal Patel (February 20, 2020), "Exclusive: Why Oklo's Demonstration of HALEU Could Be Groundbreaking for New Nuclear", Power (magazine), Rockville, Maryland: Wright's Media
- ^ a b Oklo Inc. (December 17, 2019). "Safety case and external hazards" (PDF) – via NRC website.
- ^ LASSITER, JOSEPH B. (2017). "UPower Technologies Inc. Case # 9-816-054". Harvard Business School.
- ^ "Nuclear power Spac: Sam Altman, AI king, seeks to split atoms". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
External links[edit]
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