Wedoany.com Report-Apr. 13, Aalo Atomics, a US-based microreactor developer from Austin, Texas, has introduced the Aalo Pod, a 50 MWe "extra modular reactor" designed to supply power to data centers. This system builds on the company’s Aalo-1 advanced reactor technology and aims to deliver clean, reliable, and scalable energy solutions.
The Aalo Pod consists of five Aalo-1 reactors within a fully modular setup, allowing seamless expansion to gigawatt-scale output. Its compact design requires less than five acres for 100 MWe and operates without external water sources, making it suitable for on-site placement at data centers. Aalo highlights that the Pod can be mass-produced and transported using standard shipping methods, reducing installation timelines significantly. The Aalo-1 reactors use sodium cooling and low enriched uranium fuel (LEU+), noted for its safety and availability.
The company states that an initial Aalo Pod can be delivered within 12 months of an order, with additional units following in a few months each. Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics, said: “We believe that to address today’s massive data centre market demand, another category of nuclear reactor is needed, one that blends the benefit of the factory manufacturing of microreactors, the power levels of small modular reactors, and the economic targets of a large reactor.” He introduced the term "XMR" to describe this approach, emphasizing its flexibility and modularity.
Last year, Aalo completed the conceptual design of the Aalo-1, a 10 MWe sodium-cooled microreactor using uranium zirconium hydride fuel. The company is currently constructing a non-nuclear test reactor, Aalo-0, at its Austin headquarters. It also plans to build the Aalo-X experimental reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as part of its development strategy. In December, the US Department of Energy approved Aalo’s plan to site the Aalo-X at INL, following a Siting Memorandum of Understanding earlier in the year.
The Aalo Pod’s launch coincided with the unveiling of a non-nuclear Aalo-1 prototype and a new manufacturing facility in Austin. Aalo has also partnered with Idaho Falls Power through a memorandum of understanding to deploy seven Aalo-1 reactors, generating 75 MWe. Additionally, the company was chosen as one of four partners to develop up to 1 GW of nuclear capacity at the Texas A&M Rellis Campus.
Loszak added: “We are aiming to do for nuclear reactors what Henry Ford did for cars. By making reactors in factories, we make the process fast, repeatable, and predictable, decreasing costs without sacrificing quality or safety.” This approach seeks to address uncertainties in cost and timing that often deter utilities from pursuing large nuclear projects.
