Electricity demand is surging, and meeting that demand will require clean, reliable, and affordable power at scale. Advanced nuclear can support growing power demand while strengthening domestic fuel supply and making better use of nuclear materials. Oklo is building an integrated platform across power, fuel, and isotopes to help build a more resilient energy system.  Read more in our @Nature partner content:

Oklo co-founder and COO @caorilne joined @PaulHShapiro on the Business for Good podcast to discuss her decade-long journey building Oklo and why Groves reaching criticality means much more than just starting up a reactor. Built from the ground up in less than a year, the Groves Isotope Test Reactor gave Oklo hands-on experience across engineering, construction, regulatory execution, operator training, security, quality assurance, startup, and operations. That experience creates a foundation Oklo can build on to advance commercial-scale isotope production, fuel fabrication, and planned Aurora powerhouse deployments. Listen to the full conversation:

Reaching criticality at Groves was a major milestone. It was also just the beginning. In less than a year, Oklo built our Groves Isotope Test Reactor from the ground up and brought it to criticality, demonstrating our ability to move from design to operation on a timeline few thought possible. What we learned extends far beyond Groves. The project gave our team hands-on experience across engineering, construction, regulatory execution, startup, and operations that we can apply as we advance projects across power, fuel, and isotopes. Now, we're putting that experience to work as we build toward commercial scale. That includes targeting our first commercial isotope revenue in early 2027 through our NRC-licensed Idaho Radioisotope Laboratory, while advancing our power and fuel projects toward deployment. Groves demonstrated our ability to build, learn, and repeat. Now, we're doing it across the business.

As demand for power soars and advanced nuclear moves rapidly toward commercial-scale deployment, fuel is emerging as one of the industry’s most critical bottlenecks. At Oklo, we’ve been building around that reality. Our strategy is designed to secure fuel for near-term deployments while domestic HALEU production scales and we develop the capabilities to recycle used nuclear fuel into new fuel for the long term. Potential access to U.S. surplus plutonium could provide an important bridge along the way. But our long-term strategy goes much further. In Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Oklo plans to invest nearly $1.7 billion in an advanced fuel center anchored by a commercial-scale fuel recycling facility. The facility designed to turn existing nuclear materials into new fuel, helping build the domestic fuel supply needed to support advanced nuclear at scale. Building reactors is only part of the equation. We’re building the fuel infrastructure to power them, too. Read more in the @FT:

Most nuclear fuel is used once. Fuel goes in, energy comes out, and ~95% of the energy remains unused. Fuel recycling changes that. Material is recovered and reused to extract more energy and reduce what’s left to manage. Using more of what we already have by recycling nuclear waste to recharge America.

Oklo is proud to be among the 12 developers joining @GovNuclear’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative, run by the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC). The Initiative builds on the success of @ENERGY’s Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program, giving participants a prioritized pathway to DOE authorization backed by national lab infrastructure, technical expertise, and regulatory support tailored to each project. Oklo has advanced three projects through the original Reactor Pilot Program, including our Groves Isotope Test Reactor, which was built and taken from greenfield to criticality in less than a year.  Selection for the Launch Pad builds on what Groves demonstrated: advanced nuclear can move quickly when the right technology, infrastructure, and regulatory pathways come together. That model is gaining momentum across the industry and helping move a new generation of American nuclear projects toward deployment.

For engineers like Patrick, our Groves isotope test reactor is proof that advanced nuclear can be built differently. Built from the ground up in less than a year and on track to reach criticality this month, Groves is demonstrating a faster, more repeatable path to deployment. Hear Patrick describe the significance of this moment. Learn more about our isotopes work here:

America is building nuclear again, and Oklo is on the front lines. At @INL, construction is advancing on our first commercial Aurora powerhouse, turning engineering, planning, and preparation into real infrastructure. The work at INL is laying the foundation for a commercial deployment that can scale. As demand for reliable power grows, we’re building toward a model designed to move safer and faster than nuclear has ever moved before.  Read more about how Oklo is leading the race to build America’s next generation of nuclear energy in the @WSJ:

“By all accounts and measures, this is the fastest-built, privately sited, privately funded, privately built nuclear reactor in world history.” Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte took CBS Austin’s @waltmac inside of the Groves Isotope Test Reactor, just days after reaching criticality. Built in less than a year, Groves serves as the technical and operational foundation for Oklo’s commercial isotope production, which will help restore America’s supply of critical isotopes for applications in medicine, manufacturing, research, national security, space exploration, and beyond.  Go inside Groves with @cbsaustin:

There is a lot happening right now. Last week was a good example. We welcomed @ScienceUnderSec and @CongMikeSimpson to @INL, traveled to Texas to see @Oklo’s Groves-1 go critical, and hosted @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman and @ENERGY Deputy Secretary Danly. Industry. Government. National labs. Never in my career have I seen all three aligned like they are right now. We can’t take this moment for granted. #NuclearEnergy# #AdvancedNuclear# #EnergyDominance# #SpaceExploration#

Oklo CEO Jake DeWitte joined @MariaBartiromo on @MorningsMaria to discuss why Groves reaching criticality is about much more than one reactor. Built in less than a year, Groves demonstrates a new model for advanced nuclear: build, learn, scale, and iterate. As the fastest fully privately financed and built reactor project of its kind, it shows how industry-led innovation, supported by smart policy, can accelerate deployment while helping strengthen America's energy future and domestic isotope production. Watch the interview:

Commissioner Wright recently visited the @oklo Groves Isotope Reactor, a low-power test reactor designed to demonstrate reactor design, build, and operations, and to establish the operating experience needed to support future isotope production facilities.

JUST IN: @Oklo's Groves Isotopes Test Reactor achieved criticality. Congrats!👏 @INL's role in this milestone: 🔹Conducting independent reviews of engineering calculation reports 🔹Providing radiological training 🔹Tailoring occupational, safety & health implementing procedures

CRITICALITY NO. 5! 🕺 On August 5, 2026, at 9:19 PM EST, @Oklo Inc’s Groves test reactor achieved initial criticality at the company’s facility in Lockhart, Texas. It is the fifth nuclear test reactor to go critical under @ENERGY’s Reactor Pilot and Nuclear Energy Launch Pad programs. Congratulations to Oklo Inc.!

@Oklo's Groves Isotope Test Reactor achieved criticality — a great day for nuclear in Texas and for domestic isotope production. Congrats to the whole team. @ENERGY 🇺🇸 #AdvancedNuclear# #Nuclear#

WE HAVE CRITICALITY! Oklo has completed first criticality at its Groves Isotope Test Reactor. Built in less than a year under the @ENERGY’s Reactor Pilot Program, Groves offers a concrete blueprint for future advanced nuclear deployment as the fastest fully privately financed and built reactor project of its kind. Today, Oklo proves that advanced reactors can be built, started, and operated faster than anyone thought possible and shows the world that America can build nuclear again.

We’re beginning our #CountdownToCriticality#. As we approach initial criticality, our engineers and operators will take you inside our Groves Isotope Test Reactor as they conduct the startup tests. Our team has loaded the initial core, tested the control rods and protection systems, and brought purified water into the core under tight chemistry control. These steps are a deliberate “preflight check” that builds confidence that the reactor and its systems are behaving as expected.  These startup tests do more than demonstrate our developing blueprint for future commercial deployments–they show that American nuclear can move from design to startup on timelines that are measured in months rather than years.

Scaling advanced nuclear requires coordination and investment across the full nuclear lifecycle: power, fuel, recycling, and long-term stewardship. @ENERGY’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus effort is one of the first programs to bring the whole nuclear lifecycle together. States including Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho are stepping up with serious proposals to host that full stack infrastructure and the jobs and innovation that come with it. That’s exactly the kind of forward‑looking, transparent competition we need to unlock real advancement in advanced nuclear. Thank you to the Administration, DOE, and the states investing in our country’s nuclear renaissance. Getting this right means more than new projects on a map, it means building durable, integrated nuclear ecosystems that can deliver for Americans. We’re excited to keep working with partners who are ready to invest in full‑stack nuclear deployment.

Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte joined @CNBCMorningCall to discuss two major milestones for Oklo: startup authorization for our Groves Isotope Test Reactor and our founding membership in Prometheus. Yesterday’s @ENERGY authorization clears the way to load fuel and bring the fastest privately built reactor of its kind to first criticality. This week, Oklo also joined Prometheus, a DOE-supported initiative led by @INL to unleash AI across the nuclear lifecycle. Both of these milestones reflect the momentum behind a new era of nuclear development and the opportunity to use AI to help deliver clean, reliable power more quickly.  Watch:

GREEN LIGHT FOR STARTUP: @ENERGY has authorized Oklo’s Groves Isotope Test reactor to begin nuclear operations. This startup authorization clears the facility and team to bring in fuel, run startup tests, and proceed toward first criticality under its startup plan. In just over 10 months , Groves completed engineering, construction, commissioning, development of operating programs, personnel training, and DOE readiness across all core requirements. Oklo chose the harder path to build a repeatable deployment model on private land using commercially procured fuel and equipment so future Aurora powerhouses, isotope facilities, and fuel cycle projects can build on proven deployment capabilities  instead of starting from scratch. Lessons from Groves are already informing how we build our other capabilities, demonstrating  how advanced nuclear can move faster under DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program while keeping safety front and center. Read more ->