Aalo Atomics is partnering with Microsoft to apply generative AI and agentic systems to complex permitting workflows to build faster, more efficient pathways for licensing and deploying advanced reactors...
On Nov. 5th, as part of SOSV's Climate Tech Summit, Rod Adams of Nucleation Capital and Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics joined Tim De Chant of TechCrunch in a panel called "Nuclear Fission Refueled: Putting Nuclear Back on the Map." Aalo Atomics, one of Nucleation's portfolio companies, had an opportunity to shine, as the only fission venture featured. Matt spoke about where Aalo is in its development cycle, why it has been pursuing DOE authorization for the past two years, why it was a serendipitous choice, given recent actions by the DOE and how that intersects with Aalo's NRC licensing process, among many other aspects of how Aalo is progressing with its development of a Gen IV nuclear reactor that is "purpose built" for data centers.
To listen to this panel, please click: "Nuclear Fission Refueled: Putting Nuclear Back on the Map."
Aalo Atomics has executed an Other Transactional Agreement with the DOE, streamlining its path to bring the Aalo-X demonstration reactor to criticality by July 2026...
Nucleation Capital is proud to back Aalo Atomics once again, participating in their $100 million Series B round. This marks our second investment in Aalo, following our participation in their Series A in Q3 2024 and now again in Q3 2025.
The Series B was led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from new and existing investors including Nucleation Capital, Fine Structure Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, NRG Energy, and others.
Nucleation is honored to be able to continue supporting Aalo as they accelerate towards commercialization as part of the DOE’s pilot licensing program. And we’re pleased to be able to provide more accredited investors access to exciting ventures innovating the future of energy like Aalo. If you wish to participate in Aalo, you may still do so with a subscription to Nucleation’s Fund I starting in Q3-2025. Learn more here.
DOE has named 10 advanced reactor teams—including Aalo and Radiant—for accelerated licensing reviews as part of a pilot program to get three test reactors running...
In a major policy shift, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved new guidance that allows microreactors to be fueled and tested in factories. This could significantly accelerate deployment timelines for advanced nuclear startups.
Outlined in a June 17 memo, the policy allows:
Fuel to be loaded at the factory, as long as the design includes safeguards to prevent criticality;
Operational testing to occur prior to shipment;
A redefinition of “operation” to begin only when those safeguards are removed post-deployment
This change removes key bottlenecks for companies building modular, transportable systems.
Here’s how it directly supports our portfolio:
Radiant (Q4 2021, Q1 2025): Radiant’s portable nuclear generators stand to benefit from off-site testing and factory fueling, especially for defense and remote energy use cases.
Aalo (Q3 2024, Q4 2024): Aalo’s sealed microreactors are built for factory assembly and shipment. These policies enable validation and fueling pre-deployment, accelerating early commercial pilots.
Blue Energy (Q4 2024): With a focus on modular deployment, Blue can now pursue pre-operational qualification in the factory, reducing on-site regulatory hurdles and shortening the path to demonstration.
These updates reflect a broader shift at the NRC toward enabling next-gen deployment models, aligned with the ADVANCE Act’s mandate for risk-informed, performance-based licensing.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Staff Requirements – SECY-24-0008 – Micro-Reactor Licensing and Deployment Considerations: Fuel Loading and Operational Testing at a Factory”, June 17, 2025.
Forbes, “Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advances New Microreactor Policies”, by Noel Fletcher, June 30, 2025.
Utility Dive, “Nuclear Regulators Lighten Microreactor Restrictions”, by Brian Martucci, June 24, 2025.
Aalo Atomics – Leveraging their experience designing the DOE’s Gen IV microreactor, MARVEL, an advanced nuclear reactor developed at the INL, to expedite the design, review, approval and scaled deployment of a fleet of highly stable and safe commercial sodium-cooled microreactors optimized for use by data centers and others.
Nucleation announces its investment in Aalo Atomic's Series A with Fund I
Aalo Atomics is a group that recognizes the importance of being one of the first to market with an NRC-approved reactor design that can be shipped to customers. They have not only hit the ground running but they have adopted an approach that leverages publicly-funded DOE design and development work that will help to expedite the NRC's approval of the Aalo-1, which will be modeled upon the DOE's MARVEL reactor that is being built now and which will be producing test data within the next few years.
MARVEL, a sodium-potassium-cooled micro-reactor and the first Gen IV design to come out of the national labs in over thirty years, is being built now with completion expected in 2025. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) expects to complete construction, load fuel in 2026 and begin testing this very pared-down design inside the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility in 2027. Aalo will be well-situated to access the publicly available test data produced by this DOE research program, to provide it with a true competitive advantage when applying for their own NRC license for their comparable design.
In their own words, Aalo is "moving fast and continually hitting significant milestones," having managed to recruit nearly all of their technical team right out of the INL MARVEL program. With that level of highly experience technical expertise on board, they have been able to finish their conceptual design of the Aalo-1, a scaled up version of MARVEL, which they plan to use for their first commercial reactor. Aalo has also signed a siting memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DOE for a site at the INL so that they have great access to the support team and testing facilities that are increasingly available to developers from the INL and they've set up an office in Idaho Falls for that purpose. Finally, they've already submitted a Regulatory Engagement Plan (REP) with the NRC and have negotiated a preliminary agreement with a potential customer for a fleet of Aalo-1 reactors. This is a pretty good start for a team that had previously raised just over $6 million, prior to closing the current round of $27 million just a few weeks ago. We are impressed by this team's speed, efficiency and competitive strategy and are honored to have joined an impressive group of investors backing them, which includes 50Y, Valor Equity Partners, Harpoon Ventures, Crosscut, SNR, Alumni Ventures, Earth Venture and more. The Aalo team is super-charging their efforts with this financing. They plan to continue to scale their team, adding sales, EPC, manufacturing, fuel and finance talent. They also plan to build a non-nuclear prototype to better refine and demonstrate their design (which we believe is a must in order to make real progress) and they also plan to open a factory headquarters to begin preparations for mass production capability, something that is only possibly because there are existing specifications available from the DOE's MARVEL design now being built.
We expect many more good things to come from this dynamic young team. Read more about Aalo and their Series A financing on their website, or from Bloomberg or Politico Pro. Follow some additional milestones with reporting from Sonal Patel, of Power Magazine, on Aalo negotiating its first PPA.
(Note: Investors who have subscribed to Nucleation's Fund I Q3-2024 will get participation in this investment.)
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