In 2022, the world witnessed a massive global recognition of fission as a critical part of today’s energy mix.
This year, Oklo doubled in size while growing our partnerships for deployment. Oklo now has more than 750 MW of customer interest in signed MOUs and LOIs with many different customers, while actively evaluating 15 different sites.
The year started with regulatory challenges, but those challenges spurred further growth and the year closed with incredible progress. Oklo is on track working towards building the first commercial advanced fission power plant in the U.S., as well as laying the groundwork for the many more plants anticipated shortly thereafter.
There are so many things to celebrate in 2022, not least of which, with your help and support getting us to this point. This year only emphasized more to us how important you are and that it really does take such a big community to make it through this journey to deploying reliable clean power.
It was hard to choose, but we hand-picked 10 of Oklo’s top developments from 2022 to share with you here in our Oklo 2022 Wrapped summary!
1
TIME Magazine spotlights Oklo in its ‘The Promise of Nuclear’ coverage
TIME Magazine 2022: The Year Ahead featured Oklo as one of the leading advanced fission companies in the U.S., and our unique business model of selling power, not just power plant designs.
2
Oklo wins three U.S. Department of Energy cost-share projects for fuel recycling
In 2022, Oklo won three Department of Energy competitive awards for fuel recycling, to add to a fourth award which was announced in late 2021. The four awards, totalling about $17 million, involve technology development in support of commercializing production of advanced reactor fuel from used nuclear fuel, often termed as nuclear waste.
3
Oklo submits Licensing Project Plan for its first commercial plant
Oklo has made significant licensing progress with our first commercial power plant and submitted a Licensing Project Plan (LPP) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, preparing for the submission of additional license applications. The LPP outlines Oklo’s proposed engagement to support future licensing activities and presents pre-licensing interactions that will help the NRC and Oklo achieve an efficient and effective review process.
4
Oklo co-hosts U.S. Secretary of Energy at Argonne National Laboratory
Oklo co-hosted the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm at Argonne National Laboratory. The Secretary toured the state-of-the-art experimental liquid metal and fuel recycling facilities, where Oklo is conducting testings to support its leading work in commercializing advanced fission and fuel recycling technologies.
5
Oklo becomes the first developer to conduct testing at Argonne's Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article
Oklo became the first advanced fission developer to perform testing at Argonne’s cutting-edge Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article. The testing focuses on providing thermal hydraulic validation data under all operating conditions, which will support the commercialization of Oklo’s technology. The work is supported by a Department of Energy Award through the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nulcear Initiative (GAIN).
6
Oklo attends the world premiere of ‘Nuclear’ with Academy Award- winning Director Oliver Stone
Oklo attended the world premiere of the documentary ‘Nuclear’ at the Venice International Film Festival, which features Oklo’s work in developing small, scalable, affordable plants to help overcome challenges like climate change.
7
Oklo wins DOE GAIN award for thermal fluid prototyping
Oklo is partnering with Argonne for thermal flow prototyping. Awarded through a GAIN voucher from DOE, the prototype work will occur at the novel experimental PELICAN facility to generate thermal hydraulic data, which will be useful for design and code validation.
8
Oklo takes the stage at TechCrunch’s first climate event
Oklo was the first-ever advanced fission developer to take the stage at the inaugural TechCrunch climate event. Oklo’s co-founder and COO, Caroline Cochran, presented the role energy-dense climate technologies like advanced fission can play in decarbonizing and electrifying the world.
9
Oklo features in short film featuring game-changing startups
Oklo is featured in a short film featuring game-changing startups produced by Freethink and Stand Together. The film shared Oklo’s bold plans to commercialize its clean solution while building on the success of America’s leadership in nuclear energy innovation, especially at Idaho National Laboratory.
10
Oklo features in the climate change issue of Newsweek
Oklo’s innovative business model of offering our customers the convenience of buying clean, reliable, and affordable energy was highlighted in the climate change issue of Newsweek.
