Pentagon Orders Nuclear Power Plant From Company Without Actual Reactor or License

June 12, 2025 14:18

Despite the fact that Oklo Inc.'s small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant does not yet physically exist and the U.S. regulatory agency previously refused to issue a license, the Pentagon has ordered a nuclear power plant in Alaska from the company.

America's Oklo Inc. received notification from the Pentagon that its small modular reactor nuclear power station project in Alaska had been awarded the contract to provide energy for an Air Force base. The military is not concerned about the fact that Oklo does not yet have any finished MMRs, and the national regulatory body previously refused to grant the company a nuclear power plant license. Experts point out that the Pentagon may be bypassing regulatory agencies in this case.

Oklo announced that the Defense Logistics Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense has informed the company of its intention to award it a contract to build the "Aurora" nuclear power plant in Alaska.

Oklo stated: "According to the terms of the proposed agreement, Oklo will be responsible for designing, building, owning, and operating the power plant to supply electricity and heat to the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska."

Oklo is developing fast neutron small modular reactor technology but has not yet manufactured a prototype. The first unit is planned for the Aurora nuclear power plant with a capacity of 75 megawatts.

In early 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rejected Oklo's application for an integrated license for the Aurora project due to numerous "information gaps" in the company's application documents. Currently, Oklo, which is supported by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, is only preparing new license application documents.

Alexander Uvarov, director of the Center for Atomic Information, pointed out that U.S. military institutions can construct nuclear facilities without civilian nuclear regulatory approval.

This expert said: "Civilian regulatory agencies only intervene in commercial applications involving civilian areas. Therefore, military facilities can theoretically construct demonstration reactors without introducing NRC, but they still need to apply to civilian regulatory agencies when entering the market."

Alexander Uvarov mentioned that a similar situation was mentioned in an executive order signed by Trump in May.

"This executive order requires national regulatory agencies to consider experience accumulated under conditions where military facilities are unregulated when approving commercial application licenses." Alexander Uvarov, director of the "Atomic Information Center," stated.

Many countries around the world are planning to develop nuclear energy, while the United States is attempting global expansion through small modular reactors. It is worth noting that the only currently operational MMR in the world is located in Russia, namely the floating nuclear power plant "Academician Lomonosov" with a capacity of 70 megawatts (PATÉS).

As reported earlier, Rosatom, Russia's state atomic energy corporation, launched the Uzbekistan small-power nuclear power plant project in April this year. Six reactors with a single capacity of 55 megawatts will be built in Jizzakh Province, with the core being the RITM-200N water-water reactor.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7515231402187719209/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's views. Feel free to express your attitude by clicking the "Like/Dislike" buttons below.