Aalo Atomics Leads Effort to Energize Data Centers with Nuclear Power
David Pace
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Aalo Atomics has ambitious goals, aiming to become the leading source of nuclear power for AI data centers.
“We’re exclusively focused initially on how to mass produce nuclear reactors and provide power to AI data centers,” said Aalo Atomics President and Chief Technology Officer Yasir Arafat. “Once we can build many of these and can bring the cost curve down per unit, then it’s going to open up other markets like industrial applications, desalination, or powering small towns or communities.”
The Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor reached criticality on America’s 250th anniversary, the fourth U.S. nuclear reactor to sustain a controlled nuclear chain reaction since June – advancing a remarkable track record of success for nuclear energy.
It’s the third reactor to go critical at Idaho National Laboratory in one month, exceeding President Donald Trump’s goal for three reactors to reach the milestone by the nation’s 250th birthday.
The company built its entire reactor and facility in less than eight months – achieving criticality twenty minutes after midnight on the Fourth of July.
The new reactor is located adjacent to the Materials and Fuels Complex at Idaho National Laboratory.
Aalo is planning to build a second reactor, the Aalo Pod, and a data center next door. Ground has already been broken for the reactor’s construction, and Aalo hopes to have it generating 10 megawatts of electricity by July 4th next year.
“We want to take that electricity and connect to a co-located coal build AI data center just to see how a co-located data center and nuclear can live together,” Arafat said. “How do we deal with some of the, harmonics that can exist from data center usage back to a spinning turbine nuclear reactor?
This is a developing story and will be updated later tonight.