Advanced nuclear reactor company Oklo to go public; a boon for our shared clean energy future

We are thrilled by today’s news that Oklo — which aims to bring the world abundant, zero-carbon energy through its advanced fission reactors — has entered into a definitive merger agreement with AltC Acquisition Corp. Upon closing, Oklo will trade on the NYSE under the ticker ​“OKLO.” See Wall Street Journal coverage here.

This is a watershed moment for a company that holds incredible promise for humanity. The world needs safe, zero-carbon energy at massive scale, as soon as possible, if we are to avert cata­strophic climate change. Thanks to Oklo’s co-founders Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Cochran — whom I’ve long admired for their exceptional blend of vision and tenacity — a new, viable path is before us: Oklo is next-generation nuclear power.

For over a decade, Jake and Caroline have worked toward bringing the world a doubly beneficial capability. Oklo’s two businesses— fueling the world’s power needs with carbon-free energy and recycling existing nuclear ​“waste” into fuel — are each remarkable on their own, and stunning in combination.

The company has made excellent progress to date. It obtained a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for its first planned power plant at Idaho National Laboratory, was awarded fuel for its first reactor, and recently announced plans for its second and third reactors near Piketon, Ohio. The U.S. DOE has awarded Oklo four projects to develop waste-to-energy fuel recycling. Its power plant, the Aurora powerhouse, is designed to run on fresh or recycled fuel to produce commercial-scale quantities of energy for at least a decade before requiring refueling. Oklo will own and operate its power plants, making it easier for customers to procure energy through power purchase agreements or similar structures.

DCVC backs deep tech founders bent on solving the hardest problems that matter. 

Congrat­u­la­tions to Jake, Caroline, and the whole Oklo team, who so ener­get­i­cally answer that call. We are thrilled to be part of this extra­or­di­nary story’s next chapters.

Zachary Bogue is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of DCVC.