(Image: Aalo Atomics)
The announcement comes after Aalo announced on 3 December that it had received official approval from the Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office to pursue DOE authorisation to locate its Aalo-X experimental reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. DOE granted the company a Siting Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year.
Also earlier this year, Aalo announced it had completed the conceptual design of the Aalo-1, a factory-fabricated 10 MWe sodium-cooled microreactor inspired by DOE’s MARVEL microreactor design which is currently under development at INL. The Aalo Experimental reactor (Aalo-X) reactor is part of Aalo's phased approach to development and deployment: the company is working on the construction of a non-nuclear test reactor (Aalo-0), at its headquarters in Austin, Texas, and is working to optimise the reactor for mass manufacturing, with plans to use existing commercial supply chains
The new facility at INL will help uncover new data on sodium-cooled microreactor technology, including operations related to advanced safety systems, fuel performance, and coolant efficiency, the DOE said.
"We’re thrilled to take this next step with the Department of Energy as we work to bring decades of sodium-cooled reactor expertise into a new era of factory-built energy solutions," Atomics CTO and co-founder Yasir Arafat said. "Aalo-X is our proving ground - a chance to show how advanced nuclear can be safe, scalable, and cost-effective. We're excited to be partnering with INL to demonstrate just how transformative this technology can be."
Aalo Atomics is currently working with INL through its GAIN (Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear) programme to gather additional performance data to support the company’s final design and licensing activities. Construction of Alto-X could start as early as 2026, DOE said, with operations starting in 2027. The company is eyeing commercial deployment by the end of the decade.
Aalo-X would be operated under the oversight of the Idaho Operations Office.
