Oklo Built a Nuclear Reactor in 229 Days. Here's Why the CEO Calls It a World Record.

Oklo (NYSE: OKLO), a developer of microreactors, completed its construction of Groves One, its pilot isotope-production reactor, in just 229 days this June. CEO Jacob DeWitte subsequently claimed Oklo would build its reactors at a "world record speed" in the U.S. to serve the soaring energy demands of the AI boom and American manufacturing.

Oklo's deployment of Groves One wasn't the fastest in history, since a few small reactors were deployed even faster during the early Atomic Age and Cold War. Still, it marked the fastest U.S. non-military reactor build under modern environmental and Department of Energy (DOE) regulations. Let's see why that's a bright green flag for Oklo's investors.

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The first major step toward its first commercial deployments

Oklo's Aurora microreactor is tiny compared to a conventional nuclear reactor. It generates just 1.5 MWe, but it can be connected to more microreactors to generate up to 75 MWe per "Powerhouse" plant. That's not much power compared to a conventional nuclear power plant, which typically generates more than 1,000 MWe. Still, Oklo's smaller plants are well-suited for rapid deployments in remote and off-grid areas.

The Aurora runs on metallic uranium fuel pellets, which are denser, have higher thermal resistance, and are cheaper to fabricate than the uranium dioxide fuel pellets used in traditional reactors. By processing its pellets in a closed loop, its reactors can last for a decade without refueling. Conventional reactors are refueled in stages every two years.

Oklo's microreactors sound like a game changer for the nuclear energy market, but they haven't been commercially deployed yet. It plans to start generating meaningful revenue after it deploys its first commercial reactors in Idaho in 2027, but it needs to pass a few crucial tests first.

Last month, Oklo received a Startup Authorization (to load nuclear fuel and start testing) from the DOE following a safety and operation readiness review. On Aug. 5, the Groves Isotope Test Reactor achieved criticality (a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction) for the first time.

But is Oklo's stock worth buying today?

Oklo's progress is encouraging, but it wasn't flawless. It actually missed the DOE's initial target for achieving criticality by July 4, while four other microreactor developers -- Antares, Valar Atomics, Deployable Energy, and Aalo Atomics -- met that deadline.

Assuming Oklo successfully deploys its first commercial reactors, analysts expect Oklo's revenue to surge from nothing in 2025 to $55 million in 2028. But with a market cap of $8.3 billion, it's already valued at 149 times its 2028 sales. It's also expected to stay unprofitable, and its share count has risen by more than 50% since its public debut in May 2024. Those issues make Oklo's stock a bit too hot to handle in this volatile market.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.