Faulty reasoning signals

• Confirmation Bias - 6% (30 hits)
• Anchoring Bias - 0%
• Availability Heuristic - 3.6% (18 hits)
• Representativeness Heuristic - 3.4% (17 hits)
• Hindsight Bias - 0%
• Overconfidence Bias - 3.6% (18 hits)
• Framing Effect - 1.2% (6 hits)
• Loss Aversion - 0%
• Status Quo Bias - 0%
• Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
• Optimism Bias - 27.3% (137 hits)
• Pessimism Bias - 0%

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US 10-MWe nuclear reactor reaches criticality for commercial data center power

Aalo Atomics has achieved criticality for its Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory, marking the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the company’s reactor program and moving it closer to supplying power to commercial data centers.

The milestone was reached in the early hours of July 4 under authorization from the U.S.

Department of Energy as part of its Reactor Pilot Program.

Criticality is the point at which a reactor sustains a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction without requiring an external neutron source.

The Austin, Texas-based company is developing compact, modular nuclear reactors aimed at meeting the growing electricity demand of modern data centers.

It said the Aalo-X reactor shares the same full-scale core components as its planned commercial reactors.

According to Aalo, the 10-megawatt electric reactor is designed to serve as the foundation for its Aalo Pod system, which the company intends to deploy after securing authorization from the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Toward commercial deployment

“Reaching criticality is our most significant milestone to date, as it paves the way for the deployment of the Aalo Pod to power commercial data centers once it receives authorization from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” said Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics.

He added, “More importantly, the Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor has the same full-scale core components as our commercial reactors.

The Aalo-X’s 10 MWe reactor design positions it as the premier power provider for the modern data center.”

The announcement comes as technology companies continue searching for reliable, around-the-clock electricity to support rapidly expanding computing infrastructure.

Small modular and advanced nuclear reactors are increasingly being explored as long-term power sources for energy-intensive facilities.

U.S.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the project fulfilled a broader government goal to accelerate advanced reactor development.

Powering future computing

“Last month I toured the Aalo facility at Idaho National Laboratory and was impressed by the company’s determination to successfully demonstrate their technology by the Fourth of July,” Wright said.

He added, “President Trump asked for three advanced reactors to be authorized and achieve criticality before the 250th anniversary of our great country.

I’m pleased to share that through the dedication and hard work of Aalo, INL and DOE, we have surpassed that ask and delivered four!”

Aalo has already started work on a second reactor at Idaho National Laboratory as part of Project Ascension.

The commercial-scale system is expected to generate electricity and supply power to an on-site data center in the coming months.

The company also recently announced a collaboration with Microsoft and Nvidia to develop an automated co-piloting system for managing fleets of nuclear reactors.

It expects its commercial Aalo Pod design to provide a scalable power option for data centers and enterprises within the next 18 months.

Fuel rods for the Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor were manufactured by GE Vernova’s Global Nuclear Fuel business and delivered to the Idaho site in April before the reactor received approval for fuel loading and startup.