Oklo Stock Is Trading Higher Thursday: What's Going On?

Oklo Inc OKLO shares are moving higher in early trading. The company on Thursday announced that it completed environmental compliance testing for its first commercial advanced fission power plant.

What Happened: Oklo said the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) completed the environmental compliance process addressing the DOE requirements for site characterization at Oklo’s first commercial site in Idaho.

The nuclear startup, backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, received an Environmental Compliance Permit following the successful compliance process completion.

The news comes after Oklo announced the finalization of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DOE's Idaho Operations Office in late September. The company also said in mid-October that the DOE approved a design report for its Aurora fuel fabrication facility, which will recycle nuclear material to fuel the Aurora powerhouse.

“These approvals represent pivotal steps forward as we advance toward deploying the first commercial advanced fission plant,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo.

“With this process complete, we can begin site characterization. Our unique business model of selling power directly to customers rather than power plants, combined with our early mover advantage, positions us to respond to a growing order book effectively and meet diverse energy needs across data centers, industrial processes, defense, and off-grid communities.”

See Also: Mark Zuckerberg’s Nuclear-Powered AI Ambitions At Meta Stung By Rare Bees

Oklo shares have rallied in recent weeks as hyperscalers increasingly look to nuclear power to meet the rising energy demands of data centers related to the AI boom.

Google announced a deal last month to purchase power from a fleet of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) from Kairos Power. The first reactor is expected to be online by 2030, with more reactors anticipated through 2035.

About a week later, Amazon said it signed three new agreements to support the development of nuclear energy projects, including the construction of new SMRs.

Oklo is developing fast-fission power plants to provide clean, reliable and affordable energy at scale. The company hopes to bring its first nuclear reactor online by 2027.

OKLO Price Action: Oklo shares were up 10.5% at $23.97 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Oklo.