Aalo Atomics ships first reactor test modules for nuclear criticality

Aalo Atomics has advanced its goal of achieving first nuclear criticality by 2026 by shipping five reactor test modules to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This effort is part of a U.S. Department of Energy pilot program involving 10 advanced reactor developers targeting operational reactors by July 4, 2026. Aalo’s development path starts with the Aalo-0 prototype and the 10-MW sodium-cooled Aalo-X pilot reactor, ultimately scaling to the “Aalo Pod,” which integrates five reactors to produce 50 MW of power aimed at energy-intensive users such as data centers. The company introduces a novel “extra-modular reactor” (XMR) design that bridges the gap between microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs), using liquid sodium coolant for higher energy density and efficiency compared to traditional water-cooled reactors. The shipped non-nuclear modules will undergo integral effects and steam production tests at INL to validate Aalo’s standardized manufacturing and assembly process