What’s new

Sam Altman-backed nuclear fission startup Oklo has signed a deal with data center operator Switch in what the company says is its largest-ever corporate energy deal.

The deal calls for Oklo to build its small modular reactors by 2044 to power Switch’s data centers, which are used by big energy-intensive clients like Google and Nvidia. The deal calls for enough reactors to supply 12 gigawatts of electricity. For scale, one gigawatt is enough to power 300,000 homes.

Why it matters

According to Oklo, this is the largest corporate clean energy deal ever signed, eclipsing the deal Microsoft recently struck to restart parts of Three Mile Island.

It comes amid growing demand for nuclear power, which would power data centers that support the rise of artificial intelligence, among other things. AI companies have energy demands that are “not even imaginable yet,” the company said, and need consistent and sustainable energy that excludes renewable and fossil fuels.

What to know

Oklo is targeting late 2027 to bring its first commercial reactor online, although it faces significant hurdles. Still, the start-up has been on a tear this year, teaming up with other big clients to bolster its operations.

In April, Oklo signed a non-binding letter of intent to work on a 20-year power purchase agreement with Diamondback Energy to supply electricity to its shale oil operations in the Permian Basin.

The company also signed a non-binding letter of intent with Wyoming Hyperscale in May to collaborate on a 20-year power purchase agreement to supply 100 megawatts to the data center campus.

In September, Oklo finalized an agreement with the Department of Energy to move forward with its first commercial microreactor, a major step for the company as it seeks to transform the nuclear power industry with small, modular reactors that require less time and money to build and operate than traditional . nuclear power plants.

Oklo still needs federal approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) — approval that has already been denied once. Oklo hopes the tie-up with Switch will allow the company to scale in response to growing demand for advanced modular reactors.

Oklo, whose name comes from the region of Gabon in Africa where self-sustaining nuclear fission reactions occurred naturally about 1.7 billion years ago, was published in May. Sam Altman, CEO of the company OpenAIhe was an early investor and now serves as the company’s chairman.

The startup is the only advanced fracking company with a Department of Energy permit to use the site. The department granted Oklo permission to use the site initially in 2019, although the NRC rejected its first request to build a microreactor in 2022.

Oklo aims to disrupt the way nuclear reactors are currently built and operated by miniaturizing the reactors themselves. Unlike current nuclear reactors, Oklo’s microreactor, which he calls Aurora, would take up only about two acres of land.

Today’s reactors consume about five percent of the net energy they put out, meaning nearly 95 percent of the energy content is wasted, according to Oklo.

What people are saying

Rob Roy, Founder and CEO of Switch, in a press release: The deal with Okla will allow Switch to remain “a leader in data center sustainability.”

Stock Talk, on X: “This morning’s 12 gigawatt deal between $OKLO and Switch should be a gentle reminder that nuclear and data center issues are far from over.”

What happens next

Oklo still needs NRC approval before it can bring its first reactor online, which the company still hopes will happen within three years.