Nuclear startup
Appears in 2 stories
First private firm to reach criticality in the pilot program
On June 4, 2026, a small reactor at an Idaho desert lab started a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. It was the first privately built non-light-water reactor to reach criticality in the United States in more than 40 years.
Updated Jun 5
Pilot program participant in fuel fabrication phase
The Energy Department published its secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules on February 26, about a month after NPR first reported their existence. By early March, Aalo Atomics had completed its Critical Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory — assembled in 40 days, the first new reactor built at INL in 50 years — and said it would go critical within weeks.
Updated May 27
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