Oklo Achieves Criticality at Texas Test Reactor, Marking 5th DOE Pilot Breakthrough in 2 Months
Updated
Updated · Canary Media · Aug 6
Oklo Achieves Criticality at Texas Test Reactor, Marking 5th DOE Pilot Breakthrough in 2 Months
3 articles · Updated · Canary Media · Aug 6
Summary
Oklo said its Groves Isotope Test Reactor south of Austin sustained a nuclear chain reaction, giving the Sam Altman-backed company its first reactor criticality milestone.
Less than a year after construction began, the low-power unit reached a necessary step toward commercialization and supports Oklo’s planned medical-isotope business as well as future power-reactor development.
The Texas project was built on private greenfield land with commercially procured fuel from Framatome, setting it apart from four other startups that reached criticality this year at federal facilities or on public land.
The advance follows Oklo’s 2022 NRC license rejection for its 75-megawatt sodium-cooled power reactor; the company won a medical-isotope reactor license in March but still lacks approval to build its first Idaho power reactor.