Advanced nuclear reactor developer Oklo has announced plans to use AI to support advanced reactor and fuel system design work in partnership with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Under the terms of the Strategic Partnership Project (SPP), Oklo and INL will integrate INL's Prometheus AI platform with Oklo's multiphysics design and analysis infrastructure to streamline engineering workflows and support development of Pluto, Oklo's reactor system designed to use plutonium-bearing fuels.

The Pluto reactor forms part of the US Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program, of which Oklo was selected to participate alongside 10 other companies.

The AI will be used in several key development areas, including enabling an AI agent to interact with Oklo's existing multiphysics workflows, execute and monitor design pipelines, process results, and generate compliant documentation.

The partnership is part of the DOE’s Genesis Mission, a national initiative to accelerate AI-enabled innovation and discovery. The partnership was completed with Battelle Energy Alliance, the management and operating contractor for the INL.

Commenting on the news, Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo, said: "This work brings together advanced reactor design, AI-enabled engineering tools, and INL's deep technical expertise. Applying AI to reactor design workflows can accelerate development, improve engineering efficiency, and support progress on advanced systems, including on Oklo's Pluto reactor."

Rian Bahran, deputy assistant secretary of Energy for Nuclear Reactors at the US Department of Energy, added: "Collaborations like this are critical for driving innovation in advanced nuclear systems. By leveraging AI-enabled technologies, national laboratory expertise, and industry collaboration, we are accelerating the development of next-generation reactors to support our nation's energy goals."

The deal is Oklo’s second with a national laboratory, following an agreement with Nvidia and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to collaborate on the advancement of nuclear infrastructure, AI-enabled research, and nuclear fuel R&D at the lab in New Mexico.

Oklo is a US-based SMR firm that is currently developing a 75MW modular reactor dubbed the Aurora Powerhouse. It aims to deliver its first reactor by 2027.

Oklo has been, by far, the most active SMR company in terms of deal count.

Notable deals include a non-binding Master Power Agreement signed last December with US data center developer Switch to supply up to 12GW of power through 2044, a 500MW deal with Equinix, and a 100MW Letter of Intent with Prometheus Hyperscale. Most recently, it inked a major deal with hyperscale data center firm Meta.