Construction of Aalo-X Nuclear Reactor Is Full Steam Ahead with Signed DOE OTA, Completed Preliminary Design Review, and Excavation Process Underway
AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aalo Atomics, the company building fully modular nuclear plants to power modern AI data centers (XMRs), has hit three new significant milestones on its path to July 2026 criticality for its Aalo-X reactor, a 10MWe factory-built experimental pilot power plant with modules assembled on site and precursor to Aalo’s first commercial product, the Aalo Pod. In recent weeks, Aalo signed an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) and completed a Preliminary Design Review with the Department of Energy (DOE), becoming the first company in the DOE Reactor Pilot Program to begin construction activities at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
“In an industry known for taking years – if not decades – to approve new technologies and projects, we continue to make rapid progress towards the commercial availability of our modular nuclear plants, which will provide a much-needed and safe solution for powering AI data centers,” said Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics. “Achieving criticality for Aalo-X in 2026 has always been our primary goal, and based on our recent and ongoing progress, we are highly confident that we will meet our deadline.”
Milestone specifics include:
- Aalo’s signed and fully executed OTA with the DOE will enable faster execution, less bureaucracy, and a more streamlined approach to building Aalo-X, all while maintaining government oversight. Furthermore, through the OTA, Aalo has become an official DOE contractor, streamlining project management and reducing regulatory burdens.
- Over 20 DOE reviewers, independent experts, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) observers provided feedback to Aalo engineers as part of the company’s Preliminary Design Review, which is now complete. Aalo engineers presented two days of safety analysis and reactor design development, covering Aalo’s plans to build and operate Aalo-X safely. Aalo’s presentation included details on establishing protocols to enable complete regulatory oversight, subsystem and safety analyses, risk mitigation, and quality control.
- Aalo recently signed a lease for a piece of property next to INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex, where it has begun construction on the Aalo-X reactor. Aalo has adopted a unique approach to excavation, replacing conventional blasting and open-cut methods with precision vertical drilling. This method, proven in skyscraper foundations and diamond mines, is expected to finish excavation at double the speed and half the cost, based on contractor bids.
“We chose a constructive, not destructive, approach to the Aalo-X excavation process,” said Yasir Arafat, Aalo Atomics’ co-founder and CTO. “Instead of blasting, if we can bore cleanly through Idaho’s rocky basalt, we can build anywhere. Our controlled vertical-drilling technique makes reactor excavation quiet, precise, and scalable, just like the factory-built reactors we’re pioneering.”
About Aalo Atomics
Aalo Atomics, based in Austin, Texas, builds nuclear reactors to power modern AI data centers. Founded in 2023, Aalo has secured over $136M in funding to date from multiple investors, including Valor Equity Partners, 50Y, Fine Structure Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, NRG Energy, Vamos Ventures, Tishman Speyer, Kindred Ventures, Harpoon Ventures, Crescent Enterprises, Crosscut, Alumni Ventures, MCJ, Gaingels, and Nucleation Capital, among others. To learn more, visit www.aalo.com.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Jennefer Traeger
Traeger Communications
720-988-6149
