Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) ("Oklo"), an advanced nuclear technology company, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved the Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) for Oklo Isotopes’ Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Texas under DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program (RPP).

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Oklo's Isotopes Test Reactor (Image: Oklo)

The DSA is the facility’s final safety basis grounded on a detailed technical analysis of potential hazards, safety controls, and operating requirements needed to support safe startup. The DSA approval follows DOE’s approval of the Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA), which established the facility’s preliminary safety basis during design and construction.

With both the PDSA and DSA approved, Groves moves from the documentation phase into DOE’s final pre-startup review. The remaining steps are DOE’s readiness review and startup approval. Following startup approval, the facility will be authorized to receive and load nuclear fuel, conduct startup testing, and proceed toward first criticality, the point at which a reactor achieves a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Oklo is targeting first criticality for Groves in July 2026.

"When the Administration issued its Executive Order calling for multiple advanced reactors to go critical outside the national laboratories, it challenged the industry to demonstrate a new way forward," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Groves is that demonstration. It is the first advanced reactor project to receive approval of its Documented Safety Analysis that is on privately owned land, with wholly commercially sourced fuel, equipment, and systems delivered by the private sector. And with full, enduring civil construction, and operations led entirely by a private-sector team under DOE oversight. This is a truly representative facility of future commercial facilities that Oklo intends to build and operate."

"With approval of both the Preliminary and Documented Safety Analyses, Groves now moves into the final phase before startup, including readiness review, fuel loading, and criticality," DeWitte added. "Less than a year after breaking ground, Groves is advancing toward criticality and demonstrating that advanced nuclear can move from an open field to deployment on a commercial timeline and with a commercially representative facility. DOE demonstrated remarkable capabilities to review and reach this milestone for a facility of this type, and for a facility outside of a national laboratory on this timescale. As the first project of this nature to achieve this milestone under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program, Groves provides a blueprint for how the United States can accelerate advanced reactor deployment while maintaining a rigorous, practical safety process."

Groves supports the development of Oklo’s isotope business and helps establish a stronger domestic supply chain for critical isotopes used in cancer diagnosis and treatment, advanced manufacturing, scientific research, space exploration, and national security applications. Many important isotopes are currently sourced from overseas suppliers or produced in aging facilities, creating supply risks for U.S. hospitals, industry, researchers, and government users.

By starting with a pilot facility, Oklo’s isotopes business has developed operating procedures, evaluated reactor system performance, will validate production processes, and build dependable domestic isotope production at commercial scale in the US.

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, affordable energy at global scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical isotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert used nuclear fuel into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that express Oklo’s opinions, expectations, objectives, beliefs, plans, intentions, strategies, assumptions, forecasts or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements." The words "may," "will," "could," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "continue," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "goal," "would," "commit," or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this press release and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the markets in which Oklo operates. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties.

As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, the actual results or performance of Oklo may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following important risk factors could affect Oklo’s future results and cause those results or other outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements: risks related to the development and deployment of Oklo’s powerhouses, fuel fabrication and fuel recycling facilities, and radioisotope production activities; the risk that Oklo is pursuing an emerging market with no commercial project operating and regulatory uncertainties; risks related to acquisitions, divestitures, or joint ventures we may engage in; the need for financing to construct plants, which remain subject to market, financial, political, and legal conditions; risks related to an inability to raise additional capital to support our business and sustain our growth on favorable terms; the effects of competition; risks related to accessing high-assay low-enriched uranium, plutonium, and other fuels (including recycled fuels) at acceptable costs and under acceptable timelines; risks related to our supply chain; risks related to power purchase agreements; risks related to human capital; risks related to our intellectual property; risks related to cybersecurity and data privacy; changes in applicable laws or regulations, including tariffs; the outcome of any government and regulatory proceedings and investigations and inquiries; and the other factors set forth in our documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties of the other documents filed by Oklo from time to time with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on Oklo. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Oklo will be those that Oklo has anticipated. Oklo undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation, except as may be required by law.

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Media and Communications for Oklo:

Bonita Chester, Head of Communications and Media at media@oklo.com

Investor Contact:

Sam Doane, Senior Director of Investor Relations at investors@oklo.com