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Oklo Completes Successful End-to-End Demonstration of Advanced Fuel Recycling Process

07/17/2024 SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Oklo Inc., a fast fission clean power technology and nuclear fuel recycling company, announced the successful completion of the first end-to-end demonstration of the key stages of its advanced fuel recycling process, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory. This achievement marks a significant step forward in Oklo’s efforts to scale up its fuel recycling capabilities and deploy a commercial-scale recycling facility to increase advanced reactor fuel supplies, and enhance fuel cost effectiveness.

Supported by a $5 million cost-share award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) under the Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems Program (the “ONWARDS Program”), this project aims to facilitate the deployment of a commercial-scale advanced fuel recycling facility. “We know that recycling is an important path to reduce high-level waste, and advance nuclear energy with safe and sustainable domestic fuel stocks,” said ARPA-E Director Evelyn N. Wang. “Through ARPA-E’s ONWARDS Program, Oklo is working to achieve these goals. This milestone marks an important step forward in the team’s progress as they work towards economically viable nuclear fuel recycling.” Oklo’s fuel recycling technology is engineered to extract over 90% of the remaining potential energy from used fuel, which is expected to be utilized in Oklo powerhouses to generate clean energy. It incorporates unique proliferation-resistant features, including maintaining the consolidation of transuranic materials.

The introduction of commercial fuel recycling operations is also expected to save up to 80% on Oklo’s fuel costs, driving long-term value through enhanced fuel efficiency, alternative fuel source creation, and reduction in high-level waste requiring permanent disposal. “We recognize the inherent opportunity to enhance our mission through fuel recycling, converting used fuel into clean energy,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo. “Oklo’s use of fast fission technology positions us well to realize these fuel recycling benefits. The success of this project brings us closer to bringing a commercial-scale domestic fuel recycling facility online, crucial for strengthening our business model and advancing economic viability.”

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale. Oklo received a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, submitted the first advanced fission custom combined license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and is developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

Oklo's fuel recycling technology is engineered to extract more than 90% of the remaining potential energy from used fuel, which is expected to be utilised in Oklo powerhouses to generate clean energy. It incorporates unique proliferation-resistant features, including maintaining the consolidation of transuranic materials.

Oklo selects Siemens Energy to supply conventional island

14 August 2024

California-based liquid metal fast reactor developer Oklo Inc has signed a preferred supplier agreement with steam turbine and generator technology supplier Siemens Energy for the power conversion system of its Aurora 'powerhouse'.

Under the agreement, Siemens Energy will supply the power conversion and supporting systems, fostering efficiencies through economies of scale. Oklo said that standardising equipment across its powerhouses is expected to result in cost savings in manufacturing, construction, operations, and maintenance. Utilising shared spare parts across deployment is expected to reduce maintenance downtime, enhance reliability, and improve overall performance, it added.

The signing of the agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies in December last year that designated Siemens Energy to potentially become Oklo's preferred supplier for rotating equipment of the power conversion system (conventional island) for the Aurora powerhouse. Under that MoU, Siemens Energy would also be positioned to provide consulting to support Oklo in design work on the conventional island.

Oklo said the signing of the preferred supplier agreement was "a key strategic development in its supply chain management". It added: "This agreement underscores Oklo's ambitions to bring cost-efficient advanced fission technology to market. Building on a previously signed Memorandum of Understanding, this binding agreement marks a crucial step in Oklo's vision to enhance production scalability, cost efficiency, and rapid deployment to meet growing customer demand."

Oklo, founded in 2013, plans to commercialise its liquid metal fast reactor technology in the Aurora powerhouse, a fast neutron reactor using heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity.

The reactor uses liquid metal as a coolant. Liquid metal's high boiling point allows the reactor to operate at high temperatures without being pressurised. This design enables the use of commonly available alloys, benefiting from existing large-scale supply chains already producing nearly identical parts.

"We prioritise cost in our engineering process to fully leverage the advantages of fast fission technology," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Our technology is based on proven designs, allowing us to utilise small, pre-fabricated, and non-pressurised components made from readily available materials and existing supply chains, further reducing costs and complexity."

Oklo has received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy for a prototype unit to be built at the Idaho National Laboratory.

LeLama a écrit : ↑

12 juil. 2023, 11:28

Ce qui est interessant a noter, c'est que la source est l'AFP, pas un site de troisieme zone.

La start-up du patron d'OpenAI dédiée au nucléaire va entrer en Bourse

AFPparue le 12 juill. 2023

La start-up présidée par le patron d'OpenAI (ChatGPT), qui travaille à la mise au point de petits réacteurs à fission nucléaire, va entrer en Bourse, avec une valorisation de 850 millions de dollars.

Impliqué dans plusieurs secteurs de pointe, Sam Altman a investi dans Oklo, le nom de cette jeune société, en 2015, et en est également devenu le président.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aurora nuclear reactor

The Aurora powerhouse is an advanced fission plant concept design that received a site use permit for testing in 2020 from the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The site use permit, issued in December 2019 is not a Nuclear Regulatory Commission permit. It is the "first and only permit ever issued in the U.S. to a nuclear plant using something other than a light water ("water-cooled") reactor".[1] It will use "recycled" high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel originally fabricated for the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II),[2][3][4] and if fully operational, would become "the first fuel-recycling commercial reactor in the United States".[5] The DOE's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) said it would provide 10 tons of HALEU for the test reactor which corresponds to most of the available supply.[6] Reprocessing would occur at INL's Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and possibly also the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), neither of which are operational facilities as of early 2020.[7]

The reactor design is a fast-neutron reactor with heat pipe cooling similar to the NASA Kilopower reactor.[3] According to the designers, the reactor will have a "large negative temperature reactivity coefficient", lacks pumps and valves, uses heat pipes for heat removal, has no nuclear refueling intervals and associated core exposure, and its core is buried underground.[8] In presenting its safety design to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Oklo quoted a study of the EBR-II, which is a different reactor technology, as being "inherently protected without requiring emergency power, safety systems, or operator intervention".[8]

The Aurora is being developed by Oklo Inc.[3] Oklo Inc was founded in 2014, with investors including Hydrazine Capital (founded by Sam Altman, with Peter Thiel as its sole limited partner); Facebook's co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz; Ron Conway of SV Angels; Kevin Efrusy, a technology investor at Accel Partners; Daniel Aegerter, a Swiss investor and entrepreneur, Tim Draper of Draper Associates, Crunchfund, and several smaller investors including early employees of Google and Yahoo.[9][better source needed]

On January 6, 2022, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied Oklo's combined license application due to lack of information regarding several key topics for the Aurora reactor.[10]

La start-up du patron d'OpenAI dédiée à la fusion nucléaire va entrer en Bourse

AFP le 12 juill. 2023

La start-up présidée par le patron d'OpenAI (ChatGPT), qui travaille à la mise au point de réacteurs à fusion nucléaire, va entrer en Bourse, avec une valorisation de 850 millions de dollars.

Impliqué dans plusieurs secteurs de pointe, Sam Altman a investi dans Oklo, le nom de cette jeune société, en 2015, et en est également devenu le président.

Le trentenaire s'est fait connaître avec le lancement, en novembre, de ChatGPT, interface d'intelligence artificielle dite générative, qui propose des réponses détaillées à des questions formulées en langage courant.

Oklo prévoit de construire des petits réacteurs nucléaires, aussi appelés SMR (small modular reactors), capables de produire de l'électricité grâce à la fusion nucléaire, un procédé différent de la fission, actuellement utilisée dans les centrales classiques.

Basée sur la fusion d'atomes d'hydrogène pour donner de l'hélium, cette technologie censée produire plus d'énergie, à quantité égale, que n'importe quelle source maîtrisable, est encore en cours de développement.

Oklo veut aussi proposer un service de recyclage du combustible nucléaire.

La jeune société ne dispose encore d'aucun site propre et s'est vu refuser, en janvier 2022, un permis de construction d'un SMR en Idaho par l'Agence de régulation du nucléaire (NRC).

La NRC a retoqué cette candidature notamment du fait d'un manque d'informations sur les risques d'accidents et les réponses prévues en pareil cas.

Concrètement, Oklo va fusionner avec AltC Acquisition, un véhicule déjà coté au New York Stock Exchange et dont la seule vocation est de permettre à une société d'entrer en Bourse plus facilement (aussi appelé SPAC), avec des contraintes réglementaires allegées.

La start-up prévoit de lever 500 millions de dollars lors de cette opération, somme qui sera consacrée à la réalisation du premier réacteur à fusion d'Oklo, baptisé Aurora, selon un communiqué publié mardi.

Le groupe de Santa Clara (Californie) vise une mise en service en 2026 ou 2027.

"Les deux ingrédients les plus importants d'un avenir prometteur sont l'abondance d'intelligence et d'énergie", a commenté Sam Altman, cité dans le communiqué.

"Je m'intéresse depuis longtemps au potentiel que présente le nucléaire pour créer de l'énergie propre, fiable et abordable à grande échelle", a-t-il ajouté.