Oklo has announced plans for the Groves-2 Forge isotope production and processing pilot facility as part of the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative at the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory-based National Reactor Innovation Center. The initiative builds on the DOE Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program and offers developers a streamlined pathway for reactor and fuel cycle projects. Oklo was one of twelve companies the center named to the program in August.

Groves-2 Forge will build on the Groves Isotope Test Reactor near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas, which reached first criticality in August. Groves was one of 11 advanced reactor projects the DOE selected in August 2025 for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, which authorizes demonstration reactors under DOE rather than NRC oversight. Oklo says the test reactor was brought to criticality in less than a year.

The new facility is planned to join reactor irradiation with hot-cell processing, including isotope separation, product recovery, packaging and transportation. Its initial product is lutetium-177, an isotope used in targeted cancer treatments. Oklo plans to move Groves-2 Forge from pilot operations to commercial-scale isotope production, subject to obtaining commercial operation licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Chimi Zacot, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors at the DOE, said Oklo's experience with Groves demonstrates how private developers can advance nuclear projects under DOE authorization. Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said Groves showed how quickly a new reactor could be built and brought to criticality through collaboration between the private sector and the DOE.

Source: World Nuclear News - https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/oklo-plans-isotope-facility-under-us-launch-pad-initiative