Walter reported in late August 2025 that U.S.- startup Aalo Atomics has broken ground on the nation’s first experimental extra modular nuclear reactor (XMR), marking a new chapter for advanced nuclear energy in America. The facility, called Aalo-X, is being built next to the U.S. Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex in Idaho Falls. Aalo expects to complete construction and reach criticality by July 4, 2026, a timeline the company says demonstrates the speed at which small, modular nuclear reactors can be deployed.
The groundbreaking comes just two weeks after the Department of Energy (DOE) selected Aalo to participate in current White Administration’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, announced in June 2025. The initiative is designed to fast-track the testing and approval of next-generation nuclear designs outside of national labs, clearing a quicker path toward commercial deployment.
Founded in 2023 and based in Austin, Texas, Aalo Atomics is one of several startups betting on modular reactors to power modern energy needs, particularly the fast-growing demand from artificial intelligence and data centers.
From founding to fission
Aalo’s leadership describes the pace of progress as unprecedented.
“Our selection for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program is a significant catalyst for achieving our goal of going from ‘founding to fission’ in less than three years — a feat many deemed impossible just a year ago,” said Aalo Atomics cofounder and CEO Matt Loszak.
The company has raised more than $136 million from investors, including Valor Equity Partners, NRG Energy, Hitachi Ventures, and others. Its 40,000-square-foot pilot factory in Austin is manufacturing the components for Aalo-X before they are transported to Idaho.
Once operational, Aalo-X will also mark the first sodium-cooled reactor to start up in the United States in over four decades, according to Aalo’s cofounder and CTO, Yasir Arafat, who previously led the DOE’s MARVEL reactor project.
Powering the AI boom
Aalo-X is just the beginning. The reactor is the forerunner to the Aalo Pod, a 50-megawatt modular power plant designed specifically for data centers. Each pod contains five Aalo-1 reactors, all factory-built, sodium-cooled, and fueled by low-enriched uranium dioxide. The pod’s design makes it both scalable and flexible, with the potential to colocate directly at data center sites. Aalo says its modular approach avoids reliance on external water sources and allows facilities to expand power supply to a gigawatt scale without major infrastructure overhauls.
John Wagner, director of the Idaho National Laboratory, called the project a milestone for American energy innovation.
“Today’s groundbreaking symbolizes the progress that can be achieved when innovation, vision and national purpose come together,” Wagner said.
With AI driving historic electricity demand and policymakers searching for low-carbon energy solutions, Aalo’s fast-tracked approach highlights how startups are pushing nuclear back to the center of U.S. energy discussions. If Aalo meets its target, the Aalo-X reactor could be online less than three years after the company’s founding — an achievement that would signal both a technical and regulatory breakthrough for nuclear innovation in the United States.
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