On September 26, Financial Association News (edited by Shi Zhengcheng): The US micro modular nuclear reactor startup Oklo announced on Wednesday that the listed company has reached a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho Operations Office of the US Department of Energy, granting the company the authority to conduct on-site investigations at the preferred site for the proposed nuclear power plant construction.

Company CEO Jacob DeWitte introduced that the on-site investigation will focus on infrastructure planning, environmental surveys, and geotechnical engineering assessments. These works will lay the foundation for preliminary construction activities.

DeWitte expects that Oklo's Idaho nuclear power plant will start construction in 2026 and be operational by 2027 - this timeline largely depends on the approval speed of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The market is waiting for actual performance.

Until today, when financial media report on the company Oklo, apart from emphasizing that it is a micro-reactor startup, the most commonly used tag is still OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman. Oklo went public in the US stock market in May this year through a reverse merger with Altman's 'shell company', with Altman currently serving as the chairman of this company.

Another speculative hot spot is the electrical demand driven by AI. With technology giants crazily constructing data centers and the gradual electrification transformation of the US economy, the long-term surge in electricity demand has become a market consensus. Any signs in this regard can trigger a round of speculation.

For example, last Friday, Alliant Energy company received a large order from Microsoft, and Oklo surged by 27% after restarting the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.

However, if we extend the candlestick chart further, it is not difficult to find that the stock price has been cut in half since the hot speculation after the company went public. The core reason has been mentioned before: the company's first nuclear power plant may not go public until at least 2027, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about whether it will succeed.

The mini-reactor developed by the company is called Aurora, promoting the widespread, modular application of nuclear power through a smaller, simpler design. Aurora's power range starts from 15 megawatts and can reach 100 megawatts or higher. In comparison, the average power of the operating US nuclear reactors is close to 1000 megawatts. In contrast, Aurora is more suitable as a modular power station specifically for data centers.

Bright future ahead.

As background, Oklo submitted an application to the NRC to build a nuclear power plant on March 11, 2020 (the day the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic), and it was ultimately rejected two years later.

According to Davita, the reason for that previous failure was the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented face-to-face inspections. The company plans to resubmit the application in 2025 and is currently in the pre-application review process. He also acknowledged that the company has difficulty controlling the timetable required for review.

However, Oklo now also has a bullish policy. Biden signed the ADVANCE Act in July this year, which includes instructions for the NRC to expedite the review of license applications for building and operating nuclear reactors. This also implies that the company's prospects and fate are directly linked to the outcome of the US presidential election—if Trump, who is not very keen on green energy, takes office, it will naturally impact the nuclear power industry.

Although the company's business prospects should generally fall into the category of 'promising for the future,' Oklo's business does not depend on when the Idaho plant goes online. The latest financial report shows that the company has reached an interest of 1350 megawatts with potential customers, doubling from a year ago.

Davita stated that the company's goal is to commission multiple power plants annually between 2028 and 2029, by which time the real challenge will be how to expand the entire supply chain. The current biggest challenge is the supply of nuclear fuel. After the Biden administration ordered a ban on importing uranium from Russia, the country is intensifying investments in local nuclear fuel production.

Oklo is currently collaborating with a US nuclear fuel company called Centrus Energy, which launched its uranium enrichment business in October of last year. Davita stated that the current production scale of the American supply chain is still insufficient, but the company has secured the necessary fuel for the Idaho plant.