A rendering of the proposed commercial advanced fission power plant in Oklo, USA
Courtesy: Oklo Corporation
Nuclear startup Yes It aims to deploy 12 gigawatts of power over the next two decades through a framework agreement with the data center operator Convertsthe Companies announced Wednesday.
Oklo will deploy what amounts to a fleet of small nuclear reactors through 2044, generating power equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 9 million U.S. households.
Oklo will develop, build and operate small nuclear plants. It will sell electricity to Switch through a number of power purchase agreements for its data centers across the United States. Oklo and Switch have not signed any individual power purchase agreements yet.
Oklo stock was last up 1% after rising earlier in the morning.
The broad agreement signed by Oklo and Switch is a non-binding framework that sets high-level goals to be implemented, Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitt said in an interview with CNBC. It creates a way to promote large-scale, multi-site energy development and deployment, DeWitt said.
Oklo is a startup Supported by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Which is evolving Small nuclear reactors. Altman is chairman of Oklo, and the company did just that It debuts on the market in May Through the merger with the SPAC, AltC Acquisition Corp.'s market capitalization is… Oklo $2.33 billion.
“transformational scope”
Switch is a private company based in Las Vegas that designs, builds and operates data centers in the United States. CEO Rob Roy said Switch is committed to deploying advanced nuclear power “at a transformative scale to our data centers” through the relationship with Oklo.
Oklo is developing reactors much smaller than those in the current US fleet. The capacity of its reactors is expected to range from 15 megawatts, to 50 megawatts, to 100 megawatts or more. By comparison, the average reactor capacity in the United States currently is about 1,000 megawatts.
The reactors that will serve Switch will primarily be 50 megawatts, DeWitt said. Oklo will have to build 240 reactors of this size by 2044 to achieve the goal of deploying 12 gigawatts.
Oklo believes its small reactors will reduce the costs associated with building new nuclear plants, reduce construction timelines, and give energy customers more flexible options.
Oklo has not yet deployed a reactor. The company aims to bring its first plant online at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls in 2027.
People are aware of it He told Reuters In September, Switch is considering an initial public offering that would value the company at $40 billion. The switch was particularly taken by Digital bridge and IFM Investors for $11 billion December 2022.
Demand for nuclear power is growing in the United States as technology companies and other data center developers search for reliable, carbon-free electricity to power artificial intelligence.
Amazon and alphabet Announce Investments in Small nuclear reactor technology In October. Microsoft helps build the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island Back online Through a Power Purchase Agreement.
