We’re excited to share a major new milestone: the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has officially selected Aalo to test our experimental power plant, the Aalo-X, targeting zero power criticality by July 4 2026.
This selection came through a competitive Request for Applications (RFA) process initiated under President Trump’s May 2025 Executive Order on reforming nuclear reactor testing at DOE. As we wrote in our earlier blog post, this EO was designed to unlock faster testing timelines for advanced reactor developers, under DOE authorization (instead of NRC), on DOE land.
The winners of this RFA will not be granted capital, but rather will be assigned a “concierge team” to ensure that any red tape (for example, waiting for signatures from the DOE) which might have previously taken weeks or months, will now take days. This means that the pressure is now on the companies selected under the RFA to deliver. The rate-limiting step is now the time it takes to complete the engineering, design, and testing work needed to build a reactor and take it to criticality.
When announced, many folks in the nuclear industry did not think this timeline was realistic. Indeed, most nuclear companies are planning for criticality on 5-year timelines, or longer. However, at Aalo, we took a close look at our progress to-date and our roadmap, and realized that with a few tweaks and the support of the DOE, this aggressive criticality timeline could be possible.
We are very well positioned to pull this off, because our plan all along has been to deploy our first power plant on DOE land with DOE authorization. We are already well underway on the work involved to pull this off, and winning this RFA will only accelerate us.
Our confidence in achieving this accelerated timeline is underpinned by several strategic advantages:
We already have been assigned land strategically located on DOE property near Idaho Falls, adjacent to Idaho National Laboratory (INL) (near MFC complex), streamlining site authorization processes and aligning well with the goals and intentions of the Executive Order.
By choosing UO₂, a readily accessible fuel form-factor, we avoid supply chain bottlenecks associated with alternatives like TRISO or HALEU, crucial for maintaining our accelerated timeline.
Aalo is already deeply engaged in DOE's rigorous authorization process, having completed our Conceptual Design Review (CDR) and actively working towards Preliminary Design Approval.
We are well capitalized and are about to make a big announcement here. Stay tuned.
Our team’s experience includes successful DOE authorization, as some of our earliest members were instrumental in the MARVEL reactor’s approval in 2023. We’ve since layered on top talent from SpaceX, Tesla, Bloom, Microsoft, GE Hitachi, TerraPower, and other best-in-class institutions.
In the past 8 months, we have built out a 40,000 sqft factory space, and a full-scale non-nuclear prototype. We have proven that we can move very fast.
We have already begun construction on Aalo-X in our Austin-HQ factory. We’ve also observed suppliers speeding up in response to the administration’s executive orders, reducing lead times and increasing production capacity. We’ve made a few major long lead procurements, which we’ll be announcing more on soon.
We acknowledge that this timeline to zero power criticality is extremely ambitious. But we feel confident that we can pull it off.
Zero power criticality, also known as “cold criticality,” refers to the reactor reaching a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at minimal power output (essentially, zero thermal power). This step is crucial because it confirms the reactor’s core design and physics calculations, allowing engineers to safely verify control systems, neutron dynamics, and reactor operations without producing significant heat or power.
After achieving zero power criticality, we will progressively add functionality to Aalo-X, continuing rigorous testing throughout the second half of 2026. By the end of that year, we aim to experimentally generate power and validate operational capabilities. This accelerated achievement will significantly de-risk and expedite our technology demonstration and commercial readiness.
We are also exploring the possibility of siting an experimental data center next to Aalo-X, creating a first-of-its-kind demonstration of how DOE-authorized reactors could directly power AI infrastructure. This effort aligns with the president’s directive (in a separate Executive Order) to investigate GW-scale nuclear plants paired with GW-scale data centers, as “defense critical electric infrastructure”, helping to ensure the U.S. remains competitive with China and Russia in both AI and nuclear energy.
While Aalo-X is undergoing construction and operation, we will continue to keep the NRC engaged. We are pursuing both regulatory paths in parallel, since both will be relevant for future scale-up (NRC for civilian land, DOE for non-civilian land).
Aalo-X is our sodium-cooled, UO₂-fueled, experimental power plant located at Idaho National Laboratory. It’s designed to validate the technology, economic, manufacturing, and operational approach for our Aalo-1 commercial reactor. The Aalo-1 will be deployed in Pods of five reactors and one turbine, for an initial target market of AI data centers.
Key focus areas for Aalo-X include:
This DOE selection is more than just a milestone for Aalo. It’s a signal that America is serious about reclaiming leadership in nuclear technology. With faster test authorization, innovative reactor design, and direct applications in AI-era energy demand, we’re building the bridge from laboratory-scale validation to commercial-scale nuclear deployment.
Aalo is currently the only company in the United States pursuing DOE authorization for a nuclear plant that will also produce electricity. Our goal is clear: prove the safety, performance, and economic case for next-generation nuclear in record time, and then scale it at record speed to meet demand for AI data centers.
We’ll be sharing more updates soon on our progress toward July 4, 2026 criticality, as well as our experimental data center feasibility work.
This is a pivotal moment for advanced nuclear, and we’re proud to be at the forefront.
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