IDAHO — U.S.-based nuclear startup Aalo has officially launched construction of its first extra-modular reactor (XMR) in the Idaho desert, marking a pivotal moment in the nation’s pursuit of advanced nuclear energy. The project, called Aalo-X, is being built beside the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and is part of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, which is designed to accelerate innovation in nuclear technology.
The DOE program has selected 11 developers of micro and small modular reactors (SMRs), with a goal of achieving criticality for at least three advanced nuclear concepts by July 4, 2026.
Aalo emphasized that the project represents a major milestone for the U.S. nuclear sector. The company said its Idaho build will become the first new sodium-cooled test reactor in the country to go critical in more than four decades.
“Within months, we will have assembled the first XMR at our Idaho site; by July 4, 2026, we will reach criticality, and by July 2027, we will power a collocated datacenter, with next-generation AI chips. Once operational, Aalo-X will be a tangible proof-of-concept that nuclear energy can power the AI revolution rapidly and cost-effectively,” the firm said in a press release.
According to Aalo, traditional nuclear categories—microreactors (under 10 MWe) and SMRs (up to ~300 MWe)—leave an unserved middle ground. The firm developed the extra-modular reactor (XMR) to bridge this gap.
“We created the extra-modular reactor (XMR) to fill that gap. It’s a category of modular reactors that is a crossover between microreactors and SMRs. Our product is an Aalo Pod that contains five 10 MWe Aalo-1 reactors arranged around a single turbine; the resulting 50 MWe plant is purpose-built for power-hungry data centers,” the company explained.
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This modular approach allows the units to be manufactured, shipped, and installed more efficiently than conventional nuclear plants, reducing construction risk and costs. Aalo noted that lessons learned from Aalo-X will determine whether its future reactors, known as Aalo Pods, can be scaled commercially.
Aalo is explicitly tying its mission to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, aiming to provide reliable, carbon-free power for energy-intensive data centers. By 2027, the first Aalo-X reactor is expected to directly power an AI datacenter, demonstrating a new application of nuclear energy in the digital economy.
The Blue Sky of advanced nuclear has been slow to materialize globally. Despite years of development, only one small modular reactor has reached commercial operation worldwide: Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear power plant commissioned in 2020. Aalo’s push to commercialize its XMR technology positions the U.S. as a contender to advance beyond pilot projects and into scalable deployment.
Aalo described its Idaho project as not just a technical test but a market-shaping venture:
“The lessons learned from manufacturing, shipping, installing, and licensing Aalo-X will influence whether advanced reactors like the Aalo Pods can truly be produced at scale.”
If successful, Aalo could provide a blueprint for how nuclear energy can meet rising energy demand from AI, data centers, and advanced manufacturing, industries where reliability and carbon-free energy are paramount.
Originally reported by Vladimir Spasic in Balkan Green Energy News.
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