Most people in the corporate world would agree that it’s always good to have friends in high places.
It at least seems to have worked out well for nuclear energy startup Oklo (OKLO).
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday named the initial 11 startups that it has selected for President Trump’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, and Oklo was the only publicly traded company to make the cut.
The program’s goal is to have at least three test reactors up and running at national laboratories in the U.S. by July 4, 2026.
It’s likely no coincidence that the Trump administration has chosen July 4 as its targeted date since that is America’s annual Independence Day holiday.
The other companies that will be a part of the pilot program include Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, Atomic Alchemy, Deep Fission, Last Energy, Natura Resources, Radiant Industries, Terrestrial Energy, and Valar Atomics.
The companies in the pilot program will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating, and decommissioning their test reactors.
Terrestrial Energy will likely go public later this year after it merged with a blank check company, as Barron’s notes.
“President Trump’s Reactor Pilot Program is a call to action,” Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly said in a statement. “These companies aim to all safely achieve criticality by Independence Day, and DOE will do everything we can to support their efforts.”
The DOE did not give details on why it chose these 11 companies specifically, but Oklo did beat out other publicly traded small modular reactor (SMR) startups such as NuScale Power (SMR), Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE), and GE Vernova’s (GEV) subsidiary GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
Narrowing loss, soaring stock
One advantage that Oklo could have had over the other SMR startups is that the DOE is led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who used to sit on Oklo’s board before joining the Trump administration.
Oklo’s stock rose 9.2% on Tuesday following the DOE’s announcement.
Its shares have surged 269.6% YTD.
The company has yet to generate any revenue – there is no commercially operating SMR in the U.S. yet, but it reported a narrower loss in its second-quarter earnings on Monday.
Oklo posted a loss of $24.7 million, or 18 cents a share, in Q2, compared to a loss of $27.3 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier.
Oklo CEO Jacob deWitte has credited the Trump administration and previous administrations for easing nuclear regulations in the U.S., and helping to jumpstart a previously dormant industry.
“There’s a growing consensus that nuclear power is fundamental to the country’s energy future, but historically, costs and time delays have held it back,” DeWitte said on the company’s earnings call. “One of the reasons we’re in a strong position today is the disciplined approach we’ve taken to design and cost engineering from the outset.”
The Reactor Pilot Program was announced in June, following Trump’s executive order aimed at accelerating the deployment of nuclear energy as the expected proliferation of AI data centers will demand massive energy loads.
Trump signed four executive orders targeting the nuclear industry, including one directive for “total and complete reform” of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is the agency responsible for approving licenses for new nuclear reactors.
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