Oklo targets 12 gigawatts of new nuclear power through agreement with data center operator

Nuclear startup Oklo aims to deploy 12 gigawatts of power over the next two decades through a framework agreement with data center operator Switch, the companies announced Wednesday.

Oklo would deploy what amounts to a fleet of small nuclear reactors through 2044, with power generation equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 9 million households in the U.S.

Oklo would develop, build and operate the small nuclear plants. It would sell the electricity to Switch through a number of power purchase agreements for its data centers across the U.S. Oklo and Switch have not signed any individual power purchase agreements yet.

Oklo’s stock closed nearly 4% lower on Wednesday.

The broad agreement signed by Oklo and Switch is a nonbinding framework that sets high level goals to execute against, Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte told CNBC in an interview. It creates a vehicle to advance large scale, multi-site power development and deployment, DeWitte said.

Oklo is a startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that is developing micro nuclear reactors. Altman is Oklo’s chairman, and the company made its market debut in May through a merger with his SPAC, AltC Acquisition Corp. Oklo has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion.

Switch is a privately held company headquartered in Las Vegas that designs, builds and operates data center campuses in the U.S. CEO Rob Roy said Switch is committed to deploying advanced nuclear power “at a transformative scale for our data centers” through the relationship with Oklo.

Oklo is developing reactors that are much smaller than those in the current U.S. fleet. Its reactors are expected to range in power capacity from 15 megawatts, to 50 megawatts, to 100 megawatts or more. By comparison, the average reactor in the U.S. is currently around 1,000 megawatts.

The reactors that would service Switch would primarily be 50 megawatts, DeWitte said. Oklo would have to build 240 reactors of that size by 2044 to meet the 12 gigawatt deployment goal.

Oklo thinks its microreactors will reduce the costs associated with building new nuclear plants, slash construction timelines, and give power customers more flexible options.

Oklo has not deployed a reactor yet. The company aims to bring its first plant online at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls in 2027.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters in September that Switch is considering an initial public offering that would value the company at $40 billion. Switch was taken private by DigitalBridge and IFM Investors for $11 billion in December 2022.

Demand for nuclear power is growing in the U.S. as technology companies and other data center developers search for reliable, carbon-free electricity to power artificial intelligence.

Amazon and Alphabet announced investments in small nuclear reactor technology in October. Microsoft is helping to bring the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant back online through a power purchase agreement.