Oklo to Go Public in Deal Worth $516 Million

• Oklo to Go Public in Deal Worth $516 Million
• Poland Ministry Approves Mining Firm’s SMR Plans
• Japan Govt to Fund MHI for New HTGR
• Fusion Industry Report Released by Trade Group

Oklo to Go Public in Deal Worth $516 Million

Oklo, Backed By AI Chief Sam Altman, To Go Public. Firm is planning pilot scale production facility for its Aurora power plant.

(NucNet contributed to this report) Oklo, a nuclear fission start-up backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman,is to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) in a deal that values the business at $850 Milliom (€770M).

Oklo, where Altman serves as board chair, has agreed a transaction with AltC Acquisition Corporation, a blank-check company set up by Altman and former Citigroup executive Michael Klein. Spacs, or blank-check companies, raise money on the stock market and use the cash to invest in a private company, thereby taking it public.

Existing Oklo shareholders will roll 100% of their existing equity into the combined company and AltC’s sponsor will subject 100% of its retained founder equity.  (Investor Relations Slide Deck – PDF file)

AltC was co-founded by Sam Altman and Churchill Capital in July 2021 to combine the technology thought leadership and deep industry relationships of Mr. Altman with the public markets expertise of Churchill Capital to provide public investors access to a compelling “hard tech” opportunity. Altman serves as CEO of AltC and has served as Chairman of Oklo since 2015.

The deal is expected to provide the California-based group with $516 million. The capital that Oklo raises by going public will go ramp up its supply chain and procurement processes and fund the building of a pilot scale production facility for its microreactor.

The transaction, which has been approved by the Boards of Directors of Oklo and AltC, is expected to close in late 2023 or early 2024. The stock will be listed on the NYSE as Oklo Inc. NYSE:ALCC.

Upon completion of the transaction, Oklo expects to have up to $516 million which is expected to be used to support Oklo’s go-to-market strategy production targeted to go online in 2026 or 2027, and commercial-scale fuel recycling facility, expected to begin construction by the early 2030s.

In the intermediate to long term, the transaction is expected to have a positive impact on Oklo’s operating results, providing funding for the commercialization of its power plants, further technology integration, and developing economies of scale in its supply chain and in manufacturing its microreactors. The firm also has plans to develop a nuclear fuel processing plant in the 2030s timeframe.

Altman is best known for his work with artificial intelligence (AI) after Microsoft invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and the company’s ChatGPT AI chatbot created a media and public frenzy over the implications of its use. Altman told CNBC in an interview, “I’m all-in on energy. I think there’s urgent demand for tons and tons of cheap, safe, clean energy at scale.”

Altman believes nuclear energy as necessary to meet demand while moving away from burning fossil fuels, which cause global warming.

“I don’t see a way for us to get there without nuclear. I mean, maybe we could get there just with solar and storage,” Altman told CNBC. “But from my vantage point, I feel like this is the most likely and the best way to get there.”

Oklo has a site and fuel secured for its first microreactor plant, which it says it expects to be online in 2026 or 2027, and it has strong and growing customer interest in future deployments.

Oklo is developing next-generation fission reactors starting with the Aurora, which consists of a small fission reactor with integrated solar panels. Aurora can produce up to 15 MW of power and operate for 10 years or longer before refueling.

In January 2022, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied Oklo’s combined license application for a project to build and operate a plant at Idaho National Laboratory on the grounds that the company had failed to provide information on several key topics for the Aurora design. Oklo restarted its licensing process for the project in September 2022.

In May, Oklo said it had signed an agreement deploy plants in southern Ohio that will provide up to 30 MW of electric power and over 50 MW of heating, with opportunities to expand.

Oklo board chair Altman has also invested $375 million into Helion, which is one of over three dozen industry startups working to commercialize nuclear fusion. The firm has made a bold claim on its website that it expects to start producing and selling electricity from its first fusion power plant by 2028, “dramatically shortening the timeline for commercially viable fusion energy.”

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Poland Ministry Approves Mining Firm’s SMR Plans

• KGHM aims to use nuclear energy to replace coal-fired power for industrial processes

(NucNet) Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment has approved multinational mining company KGHM’s plans to build a small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant in Poland.

Image Source: IAEA

KGHM, headquartered in Lubin, southwest Poland, said in a media statement that the “basic decision” – essentially a decision-in-principle – meant it had been given official state approval for the planned SMR investment.

The decision-in-principle is the first in a series of administrative permits needed for nuclear power facilities in Poland. It means KGHM can now apply for a number of further permits such as those for siting and construction.

In February 2022, KGHM signed a definitive agreement with US reactor developer NuScale Power to begin work towards deploying a first NuScale 77 MW Voygr SMR power plant in Poland as early as 2029.

KGHM wants to explore the deployment of SMR technology to repurpose or replace existing coal-fired power plants and provide electricity and heat for its industrial processes. KGHM said that by 2030, it wants 50% of the electricity it uses to come from its own sources.

Earlier this month the Climate and Environment Ministry approved plans for the country’s first large-scale commercial nuclear power station, which will be built in Pomerania in the north of the country.

The project, overseen by state entity Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ), was the first nuclear project in Poland to be granted a decision-in-principle.

Polish Bank to Fund SMRs

Poland’s state-owned development bank BGK will lend 500 million euros ($551 million) to finance small nuclear reactors

Poland’s biggest refiner Orlen (PKN.WA) and chemicals company Synthos plan to build the country’s first small reactors by 2030. The objective is to swap out SMRs for coal fire power plants.

“Engaging in projects that will contribute to increasing Poland’s energy security is an element of BGK’s business strategy,” BGK board member Marek Tomczuk said in a media statement.

“We are convinced that energy generation based on small nuclear reactors… will be an important aspect of Poland’s energy transformation.”

Orlen Synthos Green Energy, the joint venture which plans to deploy the reactors, said in April that the U.S. Export-Import Bank and U.S International Development Finance Corporation have been asked to lend up to $4 billion.

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Japan Govt to Fund MHI for New HTGR

Wire service reports in Japan note the Japanese government is likely to choose Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to play the core role in building next-generation nuclear reactors.

The government intends to use nuclear power to achieve a low-carbon society and stable energy supply. It plans to develop and build advanced reactors on the sites of nuclear plants that will be scrapped as existing PWRs age out.

Image: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Sources told NHK the industry ministry will tap Mitsubishi Heavy for the basic design and construction of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, or HTGR, and so-called fast reactors.

HTGR use helium as a coolant and are said to generate power more efficiently. They can also produce hydrogen, which is a zero-carbon fuel.

Japan has had an ongoing HTGR R&D program, which includes a partnership in Poland, but until now has not committed to a plan for commercial development of this type of advanced reactor.

World Nuclear News reported Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has been selected by the Japanese government to lead the conceptual design of a demonstration sodium-cooled fast reactor that is to enter operation in the 2040s. MHI will oversee both the conceptual design as well as research and development for the reactor.

In December 2019, MHI and MFBR, together with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of fast neutron reactors with Framatome and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. JAEA, MHI and MFBR in January 2022 signed a memorandum of understanding with TerraPower of the USA to cooperate on the development of sodium-cooled fast reactors.

“These activities will enable faster reactor development and the establishment of in-house sodium testing facilities necessary for reactor R&D,” MHI said.

Fast neutron reactors offer the prospect of vastly more efficient use of uranium resources than in conventional power reactors, as well as the ability to burn actinides. Fast reactors have operated in various countries since the 1950s, with some producing electricity commercially.

JAEA has a history of operating sodium-cooled fast reactors, such as Monju in Fukui Prefecture and the Joyo experimental fast reactor in Ibaraki Prefecture. However, the development of fast reactors in Japan has been halted since the government decided to decommission Monju in 2016, following a series of problems, including leakage of sodium coolant in 1995.

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Fusion Industry Report Released by Trade Group

The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) released its third annual fusion industry report ‘The Global Fusion Industry in 2023’ on July 12, which contains global findings about 43 private fusion companies. The report is a survey ranging from fusion industry giants to new entrants.

This report provides a holistic understanding of the commercial fusion industry and identifies the need for continued support of the sector. With the necessary investment, fusion energy will become a clean, reliable, and sustainable energy source for generations to come

Report Highlights

The fusion industry has now attracted a total of $6.21 billion in investment (up from $4.8bn last year), after another $1.4bn flowed in over the last year.

The additional funding comes from 27 individual investments since last year’s report, which include $250m for TAE, $200m for ENN, $79m for Kyoto Fusioneering, $55m for Energy Singularity, and many more.

Image: Fusion Industry Association

Thirteen fusion companies were founded or emerged from stealth mode in the past year, making this year’s fusion industry survey, with 44 entrants, the largest ever.

The US continues to lead the race with 25 active fusion companies (including many of the largest), but the industry is becoming more geographically diverse, with 12 countries now fielding at least one fusion company.

This year’s survey included new entrants from New Zealand (Openstar), Sweden (Novatron), Germany (Gauss, Proxima), and China (Energy Singularity).

While the total new funding announced this year is less than last year’s $2.8bn, it shows continued investment in and excitement about the industry, even as many technology investors have pulled back in other fields.

This year saw a much wider range of smaller “Seed” or “Series A” investments, with 27 companies in a variety of technologies announcing funding.

Meanwhile, companies who had previously secured funding are growing. Respondents claimed to have created 975 new jobs in the last year at their companies, and around 3,000 jobs in the supply chain, though this is likely to be an undercount as not all companies responded to this question.

Optimism about timing remains high. Four companies believe they will deliver fusion power to the grid by 2030, and 19 by 2035.

But challenges remain. Almost every company still thinks funding is a challenge, as plenty more money will still be needed to solve the remaining science and engineering challenge and reach commercial viability.

Beyond private investment, it is also notable that we are seeing an increase in public-private partnerships, with 18 companies involved in public-private partnerships valued at over $70 million.

You can read the full report here:
https://lnkd.in/eExa4Hk3

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