Texas-based small modular reactor developer Aalo Atomics has unveiled a prototype of its first compact modular nuclear power plant, the Aalo Pod XMR (extra modular reactor), which the company says is “purpose-built” for AI infrastructures and data centers.
The Aalo Pod consists of five sodium-cooled Aalo-1 Generation IV microreactors with a combined electrical output of 50 MW. The reactor can run on enriched uranium fuel and does not require external water sources. According to a representative of Aalo Atomics, the company’s solution combines the advantages of streamlined production of microreactors at the plant, the power comparable to a small modular reactor (SMR), low capital costs for construction, and the economic efficiency of a large reactor. Along with the announcement of the prototype, the company also unveiled a new 3716 m2 production facility in Austin, Texas.
Image source: Aalo
The company says the Aalo Pod allows for capacity to be scaled up as needed without significant upfront costs, and the prefabricated units, assembled at the factory, require virtually no capital construction compared to traditional SMRs. The company has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Idaho Falls Power to deploy seven Aalo-1 reactors with a combined capacity of up to 75 megawatts. Aalo will also be one of four companies responsible for providing 1 gigawatt of nuclear power to the Texas A&M RELLIS campus.
The construction of the first reactor is scheduled to begin in 2026 — there are currently no commercial SMR models or their analogues in the world. The company says it intends to do for the nuclear industry what Henry Ford did for the automobile industry — the process will become fast, reproducible, and predictable without compromising quality and safety. To date, Aalo, founded in 2023, has raised more than $36 million from investors.
Other SMR developers have also secured a number of contracts. In October, Kairos signed a deal with Google to supply 500 MW of power from a molten salt-cooled SMR, with deployment expected to begin in the 2030s. In January, TerraPower and Sabey Data Centers (SDC) signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the deployment of Terra’s 345 MW sodium-cooled reactor. In March, Westinghouse signed a memorandum of understanding with data center operator Data4 to explore the use of its 330 MW AP300 SMR.