Renaissance of Nuclear Energy: Oklo Expands Its Project Pipeline

The emerging nuclear company Oklo has experienced a remarkable increase in its project pipeline from 700 MW to approximately 2,100 MW since announcing its intention to go public in July 2023. This development was announced by the company in its third-quarter investor update. Oklo has made significant progress, particularly in the area of energy supply for data centers, although two newly acquired customers wish to remain anonymous. As early as the Q2 2024 update, Oklo had announced promising agreements, including the supply of 50 MW to Diamondback Energy for its oil and gas operations, as well as supplying data center operators Prometheus Hyperscale and Equinix with up to 100 MW and 500 MW, respectively. The latest updates also suggest potential future client deals, as numerous commercial discussions are currently underway. Notable developments in the energy market are also shown by the pricing of new power purchase agreements by IT giants like Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. These agreements have set new price floors for baseload, low-carbon energy. Oklo expects these price trends to continue and sees this as an opportunity to gain more clarity and stability in the market price for nuclear energy. However, a recent regulatory hurdle could prove advantageous for Oklo. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's rejection of a modified grid connection agreement could promote the rapid implementation of small reactors as an "island solution." In particular, Oklo's 50 MW reactor designs, which are perfectly adaptable to the energy needs of individual data center halls, could benefit here, enabling iterative expansion as capacity needs grow.