How Will Aalo Atomics' Nuclear Reactor Power Data Centres?
Aalo Atomics (Aalo) has broken ground on the Aalo-X experimental reactor near Idaho National Laboratory (INL), becoming the first company to begin construction under President Trump’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program.
The build marks a key step towards supplying next-generation modular nuclear energy for data centres.
The Aalo-X is an experimental extra modular reactor (XMR), positioned next to INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex.
Aalo aims for the reactor to achieve criticality – the point at which a nuclear reaction becomes self-sustaining – by 4 July 2026.
The milestone follows the company’s selection by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of a competitive application process to participate in the new pilot programme.
Backing from federal government and national lab
The Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program was launched by the DOE in June 2025 following Executive Order 14301.
The initiative reforms reactor testing protocols, enabling advanced nuclear designs to be authorised for testing at sites outside traditional national laboratory settings. The programme is intended to accelerate commercial licensing and deployment of nuclear reactors across new use cases – including the rising power demands of the data centre sector.
Matt Loszak, Co-founder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, says the selection is a clear signal of public-private alignment.
“Our selection for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program is a significant catalyst for achieving our goal of going from ‘founding to fission’ in less than three years – a feat many deemed impossible just a year ago,” Matt says.
“This milestone groundbreaking event is a testament to the potential that can be unlocked when public entities and private companies partner together in the critical interest of the nation. This is a pivotal time for the US nuclear energy industry and we are incredibly proud to be at the forefront.”
The pilot site at INL provides testing grounds for technologies designed to improve energy scalability, reliability and deployment speed. These features are becoming increasingly valuable as data centre operators search for secure, non-intermittent power sources with minimal environmental impact.
“Today’s groundbreaking symbolises the progress that can be achieved when innovation, vision and national purpose come together,” says John Wagner, Laboratory Director at INL.
“At Idaho National Laboratory, we are proud to support the Department of Energy’s efforts to accelerate advanced nuclear technologies that strengthen America’s energy security, provide reliable power, and inspire the next generation of innovators.
“Projects like Aalo-X reflect the promise of nuclear energy to meet our nation’s historic demand growth and help enable a more prosperous future for our nation.”
Designed to meet growing data centre demand
The Aalo-X reactor is a smaller-scale forerunner to Aalo’s commercial offering: the Aalo Pod. Designed specifically to supply power to data centres, the Aalo Pod is a 50 MWe XMR power plant built around five Aalo-1 sodium-cooled reactors. These use low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel, selected for its safety record and ready availability.
Unlike traditional nuclear plants, the Aalo Pod does not require an external water source and is built for direct onsite deployment. Its compact size and fully modular design allow operators to scale from megawatts to gigawatts with minimal disruption or permitting complexity.
The company will manufacture Aalo-X at its 40,000-square-foot pilot facility in Austin, Texas. Once complete, the reactor will be transported to INL for installation and commissioning. Lessons from Aalo-X are expected to inform the commercial deployment of Aalo Pods, which the company aims to bring to market by 2029.
Yasir Arafat, Co-founder and CTO at Aalo Atomics, previously led the MARVEL microreactor project at INL. He says: “When Aalo-X achieves criticality next year, it will become the first new sodium-cooled reactor to start operation in the US in over four decades. Aalo-X is just the beginning as we are poised to deploy nuclear power on a scale that far exceeds the first atomic age.”
