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Aalo Atomics · Idaho National Laboratory, ID · Idaho
Experimental sodium-cooled microreactor; reached criticality on the DOE pilot program's July 4, 2026 deadline.
Power
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Fission · Research and prototype
Storage
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energy capacity
Online
Jul 4, 2026
actual
Capital committed
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closed or awarded
Capital pending
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conditional or under review
How it works
The core sits in a pool of liquid metal or molten salt that carries heat away at normal pressure. Some designs store that heat in molten-salt tanks so the plant can boost output when the grid needs it.
OPEN IN 3D →DOE authorized
issued Jun 25, 2026
Aalo-X, sited on DOE land at Idaho National Laboratory, is authorized by DOE under the Reactor Pilot Program rather than NRC. DOE approved the PDSA on March 4, 2026, and Secretary Wright signed the final startup authorization on June 25, 2026; the zero-power critical test reached criticality in the early morning of July 4, 2026. NRC has no docket for Aalo-X itself; NRC pre-application docket 99902128 covers the commercial Idaho Nuclear Project, and Aalo plans to submit a commercial NRC application in 2026.
NEXT: Progressive addition of functionality and testing of Aalo-X through the second half of 2026, with the facility expected to be completed by end of 2026; Aalo also plans a commercial NRC license application in 2026 (for Aalo-1/Pod plants, not Aalo-X).
No project-level financing disclosed yet.
Sources: world-nuclear-news.org · world-nuclear-news.org
Not applicable: test or demonstration machine, sells no power
STEP 4/6 · AT RISK HALEU is the bottleneckMost advanced designs need HALEU (5–20% enriched), with no commercial US supply at scale yet.
STEP 4/4 · WATCH Office relaunched as Energy Dominance FinancingLending shifts toward nuclear and utility expansions (AP1000 offers, Constellation uprates).
Critical inputs
Policy that applies
Developer
Place