US fission technology company Oklo is forming a strategic partnership with start-up Atomic Alchemy to produce isotopes. This partnership will aim to combine Oklo’s efforts to build and operate fast reactors and fuel recycling expertise with Atomic Alchemy’s expertise in isotope production to meet increasing demands for isotopes.
Oklo said it is uniquely positioned to drive the nuclear industry forward, including complementary applications like radioisotopes, given its strong balance sheet with over $300m of cash on hand following its recently completed business combination with AltC Acquisition Corp. Oklo plans “to utilise its robust funding position to execute on the strong customer interest in its Aurora powerhouse offering to meet the rapidly expanding electric power needs of the artificial intelligence, data centre, energy, defence, and industrial markets, among others”.
“Industrial and medical isotopes are indispensable to many sectors of the economy, from treating diseases like cancer to fuelling clean energy technologies like radioisotope thermoelectric generators, fission power plants, and even fusion research. The domestic and global demands for these crucial elements are growing at an accelerated pace,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo. “Our partnership with Atomic Alchemy will enable us to diversify our product offerings with radioisotopes produced from our fuel recycling process.”
Founder and CEO of Atomic Alchemy, Thomas Eiden, said “The world is facing a shortage of vital isotopes. We are witnessing many promising cancer therapies stuck in clinical trials, unable to secure sufficient quantities of isotopes in a timely manner. I’m proud to be partnering with Oklo to help expand our domestic supplies of isotopes and tritium,”
As a new public company, the Oklo founders and management team “are excited to build long-term value for the benefit of all our shareholders, new and existing, via execution of our core mission and advancement of unique partnerships like Atomic Alchemy”.
Oklo is developing the Aurora microreactor, which uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. It will use HALEU fuel. Oklo says the reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) and space reactor legacy. EBR-II features a hexagonal fuel element with a sealed heat pipe and a passive air-cooling system. Oklo initially marketed a 1.5 MWe microreactor version of the Aurora, but has now expanded its capacity offerings from 15 MWe to 100 MWe.
Atomic Alchemy’s website comprise a title page that notes the worldwide shortage of isotopes “It doesn’t have to be this way. Atomic Alchemy is working to solve this by building the world’s first scalable radioisotope production facility. This facility will contain the world’s first privately-owned nuclear reactors dedicated to radioisotope production.” It offers no timeline.
