Oklo is seeking to build 12 gigawatts of new nuclear energy under a deal with a data center operator
Representation of a planned commercial Oklo nuclear fission power plant in the USA
Courtesy of Oklo Inc.
Nuclear startup OK The aim is to provide 12 gigawatts of electricity over the next two decades as part of a framework agreement with the data center operator SwitchThe company announced Wednesday.
Oklo would have a fleet of small nuclear reactors in operation by 2044, producing electricity equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 9 million U.S. homes
Oklo would develop, build and operate the small nuclear power plants. It would sell the power to Switch through a series of power purchase agreements for its data centers in the United States. Oklo and Switch have not yet signed individual power purchase agreements.
Oklo shares closed nearly 4% lower on Wednesday.
The comprehensive agreement signed by Oklo and Switch is a non-binding framework that sets out high-level goals to be implemented, Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said in an interview with CNBC. According to DeWitte, this creates a means to advance large-scale energy development and deployment across multiple locations.
Oklo is a startup supported by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that develops Micronuclear reactors. Altman is the chairman of Oklo, and the company has made it Market debut in May through a merger with its SPAC, AltC Acquisition Corp. Oklo has a market cap of $2.33 billion.
“Transformative scale”
Switch is a privately held company headquartered in Las Vegas that designs, builds and operates data center campuses across the United States. CEO Rob Roy said Switch is committed to using advanced nuclear energy “at a transformative scale for our data centers” through its relationship with Oklo.
Oklo is developing reactors that are much smaller than those in the current US fleet. The reactors are expected to have a power capacity ranging from 15 megawatts to 50 megawatts to 100 megawatts or more. For comparison: the average reactor in the USA currently has an output of around 1,000 megawatts.
The reactors that would serve Switch would primarily be 50 megawatts, DeWitte said. Oklo would have to build 240 reactors of this size by 2044 to achieve the expansion target of 12 gigawatts.
Oklo believes its microreactors will reduce costs associated with building new nuclear power plants, shorten construction time and provide energy customers with more flexible options.
Oklo has not yet deployed a reactor. The company aims to have its first facility operational in 2027 at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls.
People who are familiar with the matter said Reuters in September that Switch was considering an IPO that would value the company at $40 billion. The switch was taken over privately DigitalBridge and IFM Investors for $11 billion December 2022.
Demand for nuclear power is growing in the U.S. as technology companies and other data center developers seek reliable, carbon-free power for artificial intelligence.
Amazon And alphabet announced Investments In Small nuclear reactor technology in October. Microsoft is helping to build the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant online again through a Power purchase agreement.
