Oklo Inc. ("Oklo") and Centrus Energy Corp. ("Centrus") (LEU) announced a new Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between the two companies to support the deployment of Oklo's advanced fission powerhouses and advanced nuclear fuel production in Southern Ohio, making the region a critical hub for the future of the U.S. nuclear industry. Oklo and Centrus have been partners since 2021 when the companies signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate in the development of a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium ("HALEU") fuel facility. With this new MOU, Oklo and Centrus plan to enter into a broad range of collaboration programs supporting the development and operation of Oklo's Aurora powerhouses including supply of HALEU produced by Centrus at its Piketon, Ohio, facility. Centrus also intends to buy clean, reliable, and affordable energy from Oklo's planned Ohio plants to power its HALEU Production Facility.
The parties intend to enter into one or more definitive agreements relating to the following collaborative activities addressed in the MOU:
- Oklo would purchase HALEU from the production facility Centrus is planning to build in Piketon, Ohio, the only such facility licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to produce HALEU.
- Centrus would purchase electricity from the Aurora powerhouses that Oklo is planning to build in Piketon. These two power plants are designed to power thousands of homes and businesses in addition to the HALEU production facility; similarly, the HALEU production plant is designed to be scaled up to support hundreds of reactors.
- Centrus would manufacture components for Oklo's Aurora powerhouse at Centrus' advanced manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as well as manufacturing capacity at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, where HALEU production will take place.
- Centrus and Oklo would work together to establish and license the capabilities necessary to deconvert HALEU from uranium hexafluoride to uranium metal and fabricate fuel assemblies for Oklo's Aurora
powerhouses.
Oklo is playing a leading role in catalyzing the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies. The company has secured a site use permit from the Department of Energy ("DOE") and a fuel award from Idaho National Laboratory for its first commercial power plant deployment in Idaho. Oklo has a partnership with Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative at the DOE Piketon Site for its second and third commercial plants.
"Our wide-ranging landmark partnership with Centrus is expected to span fuel production, manufacturing, and power off-take, exemplifying the early market interest in our scalable power plants and differentiated business model, involving selling power, not power plants. This important collaboration is expected to facilitate several elements of our strategy to meet the growing demand for our powerhouses that stems from our pipeline of customer engagements across various industries," said Dr. Jacob DeWitte, Co-founder and CEO of Oklo.
"We see tremendous potential in a strategic partnership between Centrus and Oklo to advance the next generation of carbon-free nuclear energy," said Centrus President and CEO Daniel B. Poneman. "It has always been clear that establishing a domestic HALEU supply chain requires a public-private partnership. We are excited to see strong support from industry leaders like Oklo as well as growing bipartisan support in Congress and the Administration for robust investment in domestic uranium enrichment."
"I am excited about the powerful enabling effect between Oklo and Centrus in providing abundant, inexpensive energy with advanced fission. This partnership will represent an important step in lowering the cost of energy by establishing a critical domestic fuel supply infrastructure," said Sam Altman, CEO of AltC Acquisition Corp. ("AltC") and Chairman of Oklo. Oklo recently announced a definitive business combination agreement with AltC. Upon closing of the business combination, the combined company will operate as Oklo and is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "OKLO."
At the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, Centrus has constructed the first U.S. HALEU production facility licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and expects to begin production of HALEU by the end of 2023 as part of the company's contract with the DOE. With sufficient funding and offtake commitments, Centrus could expand the facility to meet the full range of commercial and national security requirements for enriched uranium, including the production of Low-Enriched Uranium as well as HALEU.
