DOE Clears Safety Analysis for Oklo’s Groves Isotope Reactor
The decision opens DOE’s final pre-startup review and creates a path for fuel loading and testing that could lead to first criticality in July 2026.
Overview
- Oklo said the Department of Energy approved the Documented Safety Analysis on Wednesday, moving the Groves facility in Lockhart, Texas into DOE’s final pre-startup review and targeting first criticality in July 2026.
- Groves is a test reactor built to produce medical, industrial, research and national-security radioisotopes and will not generate electricity for the grid.
- CEO Jacob DeWitte said Groves is the first advanced reactor on private land to win DSA approval using wholly commercial fuel, equipment and systems supplied by the private sector.
- Investors reacted modestly to the news, with OKLO shares rising about 4–5% in premarket trading and the company valued at about $9.1 billion despite recent share declines.
- Key next steps and risks include a DOE readiness review and startup approval before fuel can be loaded, continued HALEU supply and fuel-fabrication challenges, separate NRC licensing for commercial power plants, and Oklo’s longer-term Aurora power reactor program still under development.