Oklo reached two key regulatory milestones Tuesday for a demonstration reactor being developed at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory and a separate project also in Idaho.
One approval came via DOE’s reactor pilot program while Oklo’s subsidiary company won a materials license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
DOE approved Oklo’s nuclear safety design agreement for its demonstration Aurora powerhouse reactor planned for INL.
Parallel to that, Oklo’s subsidiary Atomic Alchemy was issued a materials license from NRC to handle and distribute isotopes. Oklo said this is the first NRC license the company has ever been issued.
While Oklo will pursue eventual plans for the commercialization of its liquid metal-cooled, metal-fueled fast reactor, the license the company recently received allows it to begin commercial plans for critical isotopes at its Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Through the license, Oklo’s subsidiary is allowed to use, process and distribute up to 2 Curies of Radium-226, according to the release. Additionally, Atomic Alchemy is allowed to possess and store sealed sources of Cobalt-60 and Americium-241.
As for the nuclear reactor safety design agreement, it is the first step under DOE’s reactor pilot program authorization licensing program, according to the press release. Following DOE’s approval, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based nuclear company said it has immediately requested DOE to start the review of its preliminary documented safety analysis.
DOE’s reactor pilot program seeks to have at least three demonstration reactors reach criticality by July 4. Under the program, DOE has approved the preliminary safety analyses for Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, Radiant Nuclear and Valar Atomics so far.