Aurora powerhouse project underway with groundbreaking ceremony

On Sept. 22, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin construction on a new power-generating facility at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls.

The Aurora powerhouse plant will produce energy through a nuclear reactor being created by Oklo, Inc., a nuclear technology company, through the U.S. Department of Energy’s new Reactor Pilot Program.

Through the pilot program, the Aurora-INL project is one of three awarded to Oklo. Two were awarded directly to the company, of which Aurora is one, and another was awarded to Oklo’s subsidiary company, Atomic Alchemy.

“Oklo, Inc.’s Aurora powerhouse will deliver clean, affordable and reliable American energy to power a new generation of intelligence manufacturing across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “As advancements in artificial intelligence drive up electricity demands, projects like this are critical to ensuring the United States can meet that need and remain at the forefront of the global AI arms race.”

According to a release issued by Oklo, the reactor at Aurora-INL is a sodium-cooled fast reactor using metal fuel. The company stated that the new reactor “builds on the design and operating heritage of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II.” That reactor ran for 30 years from 1964 to 1994.

“This opportunity positions us to build our first plant more quickly,” said Jacob DeWitte, CEO and co-founder of Oklo. “We have been working with the Department of Energy and the Idaho National Laboratory since 2019 to bring this plant into existence, and this marks a new chapter of building. We are excited for this, and for many more to come.”

In 2019, Oklo was awarded fuel recovered from EBR-II and has finished two of the four steps required by the DOE for authorization to create the initial core at the new Aurora-INL facility.

Approximately 370 jobs will be created through the construction process being run by Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co., and 70 to 80 long-term roles will be created for the operation of the plant.

“INL has always been where nuclear innovation becomes reality,” said INL Director John Wagner. “Today’s groundbreaking with Oklo continues that legacy, bringing advanced reactor technology from the laboratory to commercial deployment right here in Idaho.”