Aalo secures fuel and turbine for experimental reactor

Through the fuel supply contract, Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) plans to deliver fabricated fuel rods to Aalo in early 2026. These fuel rods will power Aalo-X, Aalo's first experimental extra modular nuclear reactor.

GNF - a GE Vernova-led alliance with Hitachi Ltd and affiliate of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy - operates primarily through Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas, LLC in Wilmington, North Carolina and Global Nuclear Fuel-Japan Co Ltd in Kurihama, Japan.

The Aalo-designed fuel rods, fabricated by GNF, are fundamental to Aalo-X achieving criticality in 2026, Aalo said. GNF is expected to provide Aalo with uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel rods fabricated from low-enriched uranium (LEU) to be assembled into final fuel assemblies for Aalo-X. Aalo Atomics announced in September last year that it expected to take delivery of LEU to fuel its Aalo-X from Urenco in late 2025 or early 2026, having signed a contract with the enrichment company in July.

"GNF comes to the table with decades of proven fuel fabrication experience, and with GNF's help, we believe that we can power up data centres in months, not decades, and grow our factory output to exceed gigawatt-levels," said Aalo Atomics CTO Yasir Arafat.

"We are excited to support Aalo in its mission to achieve criticality of Aalo-X in 2026 and beyond," said Sarah Ortman, Product Director for Advanced Nuclear Fuels at GNF. "Building on decades of experience supplying fuel to the global boiling water reactor (BWR) fleet, GNF brings proven manufacturing excellence, rigorous quality programmes, and a highly skilled workforce. Our flexible facilities and expertise position us to reliably deliver both today's BWR fuel and advanced fuel products needed to advance other innovative designs in support of the nation's nuclear industry."

Aalo Atomics broke ground in August at a site in Idaho to start construction of its first experimental reactor, the Aalo-X. Aalo said it planned to complete construction and achieve criticality by 4 July 2026, the target date set by the US Department of Energy for at least three test reactors to reach criticality under the programme to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs it announced in June 2025.

Aalo-X will be manufactured at Aalo's pilot factory in Austin, Texas, before being transported to and installed at the INL site. The test reactor is the precursor to the Aalo Pod, a 50 MWe XMR (Extra Modular Reactor) power plant purpose-built for data centres - demand for which is increasing rapidly following the widespread adoption of AI. Each fully modular Aalo Pod will contain five factory-built, sodium-cooled, Aalo-1 reactors, using low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel. The company says it will be in commercial use by 2029.

Steam turbine contract

Aalo Atomics has selected energy technology company Baker Hughes to provide it with a 10 MWe steam turbine generator set and ancillaries solution. The steam turbine will be used for the power island of Aalo-X.

Baker Hughes will deliver its steam turbine to Aalo by the end of 2026. The two companies have already begun collaborating on the Aalo-X power island to optimise its efficiency and reliability, as the order was awarded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

"Baker Hughes' steam turbines draw their high efficiency and reliability from decades of development and in-field experience and will provide us with the proven industrial-grade components we need to achieve criticality this year," Arafat said. "What's more, Baker Hughes modular design approach mirrors Aalo's focus on creating modular reactors, making it an ideal supplier and collaborator."

Alessandro Bresciani, Senior Vice President, Energy Equipment at Baker Hughes, added: "Small, advanced nuclear facilities have the potential to play a significant role in generating sustainable and reliable power for data centres. We are excited to be collaborating with Aalo on this journey, providing them with an innovative solution that can efficiently address growing data centre energy needs."