The return of nuclear energy.

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jorgebgt3.8 K11 hours ago3 min read

The return of nuclear energy.

In the last 40 years, the United States had not put into operation a single sodium-cooled nuclear reactor; that now changed with the start of construction of the Aalo-X, the country's first extra-compact modular reactor, built next to the Idaho National Laboratory.

The startup behind the Elow Atomics project was founded in 2023 and already promises an ambitious feat, going from fission to fusion in less than 3 years, if it meets the schedule, the first critical reaction would occur on July 4, 2026, a symbolic token chosen to mark the energy independence of the United States.

The Aalo-X is born within a larger strategy. It is part of the nuclear reactor pilot program, launched by the government in June 2025, created to accelerate the validation of next-generation projects outside the slow pace of traditional laboratories.

For such a young company, having been selected means credibility and, above all, access to important investors. The difference between the Aalo-X is in its design. It is a sodium-cooled reactor, capable of operating without depending on large volumes of water, which makes it more flexible in strategic locations.

Each unit will be the basis for the future DOE, a 50 MB modular plant composed of five Aalo-1 reactors, all prefabricated and scalable. This architecture allows data centers, the largest consumers of electricity in the age of AI, to literally plug in new power modules as demand grows without the need for major infrastructure works. That detail is not irrelevant, with artificial intelligence driving historic demand for electricity, data centers are putting pressure on the electrical grid like never before seen.

Aalo-X positions itself precisely at that bottleneck, selling the idea that its modular technology can scale up to gigawatts with speed, stability and low emissions. John Wagner, director of the Idaho National Laboratory, called the project, “a milestone that shows what can be achieved when innovation and national purpose meet.”

If it works, the Aalo-X will be much more than a prototype, it may signal the return of nuclear energy to prominence in the United States, now aligned with the race for clean energy and enough to sustain the AI boom.

The images without reference were created with AI

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