Oklo and Meta announced an agreement to support the development of a 1.2-gigawatt advanced nuclear power campus in Pike County, Ohio, aimed at supplying clean, firm electricity for Meta’s growing data center footprint in the region. The agreement gives Meta a mechanism to prepay for power and provide early-stage funding that helps Oklo advance project certainty for its Aurora powerhouse deployments.
Oklo plans to use the funding to secure nuclear fuel and advance Phase 1 development on more than 200 acres it owns in southern Ohio, land previously held by the U.S. Department of Energy. The project sits within the PJM Interconnection footprint, positioning it to serve one of the largest and most liquid power markets in the United States as demand from AI infrastructure and large-scale data centers accelerates.
Pre-construction and site characterization are scheduled to begin in 2026. Oklo targets initial operations around 2030, with incremental expansion toward the full 1.2 GW capacity by 2034. The project aligns with regional redevelopment efforts led by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, which is repurposing land from the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a hub for advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
- Agreement supports development of up to 1.2 GW of advanced nuclear capacity in southern Ohio
- Meta provides early funding through a prepayment mechanism to advance fuel procurement and Phase 1 development
- Project will use Oklo’s Aurora powerhouses and scale in phases through 2034
- Site located on more than 200 acres within the PJM grid, near Meta’s Ohio data center operations
- Development expected to create construction, operations, and long-term regional economic activity
“Two years ago, Oklo shared its vision to build a new generation of advanced reactors in Ohio. Today, that vision is becoming a reality,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo. “Meta’s funding commitment in support of early procurement and development activity is a major step in moving advanced nuclear forward.”
🌐 Analysis
The Oklo–Meta agreement reflects a broader shift among hyperscalers toward directly funding new generation capacity to secure long-term, reliable power for AI-scale data centers. Similar nuclear-backed strategies are emerging across the sector as grid constraints, permitting timelines, and rising load forecasts push operators to look beyond traditional utility procurement models and toward firm, on-site or dedicated clean energy sources.
Oklo Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and was founded by Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Cochran with a focus on commercializing small, fast-spectrum nuclear reactors for clean, firm power generation. The company’s core technology is the Aurora powerhouse, a compact fast-reactor design that uses metallic fuel and liquid-metal cooling to deliver long operating lifetimes, high capacity factors, and simplified operations, with an emphasis on passive safety and reduced refueling requirements. Oklo has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital through a combination of private funding and its public market transaction, which brought strategic backing from technology and infrastructure investors. Major milestones include becoming the first company to receive a U.S. Department of Energy site use permit for a commercial advanced fission plant, securing fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, submitting a custom combined license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and announcing large-scale power development agreements—including a planned 1.2 GW nuclear energy campus in Ohio to support hyperscale data center demand.
🌐 We’re tracking the latest developments in AI infrastructure, power, and data center energy strategy. Follow our ongoing coverage at: https://convergedigest.com/category/ai-infrastructure/
