Federal regulators deny Oklo’s application to build a reactor in

Federal regulators have denied the application from Silicon Valley nuclear power start-up Oklo to build and operate its advanced nuclear reactor, dubbed Aurora, in Idaho.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission filed the decision on Thursday and cited lack of sufficient information about potential accidents and safety measures. Oklo may re-apply.

“Oklo’s application continues to contain significant information gaps in its description of Aurora’s potential accidents as well as its classification of safety systems and components,” said the NRC’s Andrea Veil, in a written statement.

“These gaps prevent further review activities. We are prepared to re-engage with Oklo if they submit a revised application that provides the information we need for a thorough and timely review,” Veil said.

Oklo’s plan is to build miniature nuclear reactors that are much smaller and cheaper than conventional nuclear reactors. Conventional reactors require massive construction projects which are often beleaguered by construction timeline and budget overruns, like the Vogtle plant in Georgia. Oklo’s mini reactors are supposed to be powered by the waste of conventional nuclear reactors and housed in aesthetically pleasing A-frame structures. The company has raised more than $25 million from venture investors to pursue this plan, according to Pitchbook.

The Idaho National Laboratory had announced it would grant Oklo access to used nuclear waste to develop and demonstrate its technology.

The NRC’s decision surprised Oklo, said co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Caroline Cochran.

“It was pretty much as much of a surprise to us as anyone else. We weren’t given any heads up at all before it basically went public yesterday,” Cochran told CNBC. “We really didn’t have any indication that this was coming.”

Cochran launched Oklo in 2013 with her husband Jacob DeWitte, and they began having conversations with the NRC in 2016. In June 2020, Oklo’s application to build an advanced reactor was accepted for review by the commission.

Cochran said in their many meetings with the NRC, they have aimed to provide as much information as they were asked for.

But the NRC pointed CNBC to a letter it wrote to DeWitte stating that the regulators did not get the information they requested.

“Oklo has repeatedly failed to provide substantive information in response to NRC staff requests for additional information (RAIs) on the maximum credible accident (MCA) for the Aurora design, the safety classification of structures, systems, and components (SSCs), and other issues needed for the NRC staff to establish a schedule and complete its technical review,” the letter said.

An MCA is a worse case scenario, explained Scott Burnell, a public affairs officer at the NRC. The agency analyzes an accident “resulting in the greatest radioactive release” possible from a event, hazard or sequence of events.

Cochran said she has been encouraged by some…