Inside the Nuclear Race for Data Center Energy with Aalo Atomics CEO Matt Loszak

The latest episode of the DCF Show podcast delves into one of the most pressing challenges facing the data center industry today: the search for sustainable, high-density power solutions. And how, as hyperscale operators like Google and Meta contend with growing energy demands—and, in some cases, resistance from utilities unwilling or unable to support their expanding footprints—the conversation around nuclear energy has intensified.

Both legacy nuclear providers and innovative startups are racing to secure the future business of data center giants, each bringing unique approaches to the table. Our guest for this podcast episode is Matt Loszak, co-founder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, an Austin-based company that’s taking a fresh approach to nuclear energy.

Aalo, which secured a $29.5 million Series A funding round in 2024, stands out in the nuclear sector with its 10-megawatt sodium-cooled reactor design—eliminating the need for water, a critical advantage for siting flexibility. Inspired by the Department of Energy’s MARVEL microreactor, Aalo’s technology benefits from direct expertise, as the company’s CTO was the chief architect behind MARVEL.

Beyond reactor design, Aalo’s vision extends to full-scale modular plant production. Instead of just building reactors, the company aims to manufacture entire nuclear plants using prefabricated, LEGO-style components. The fully modular plants, shipped in standard containers, are designed to match the footprint of a data center while requiring no onsite water—features that could make them particularly attractive to hyperscale operators seeking localized, high-density power.

Aalo has already made significant strides, with the Department of Energy identifying land at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as a potential site for its first nuclear facility. The company is on an accelerated timeline, expecting to complete a non-nuclear prototype within three months and break ground on its first nuclear reactor in about a year—remarkably fast progress for the nuclear industry.

In our discussion, Loszak unpacks the implications of this new wave of nuclear innovation, touching on key topics such as the evolving stance of the Trump administration on nuclear energy, the shifting economics of nuclear power (where past projects suffered massive cost overruns and delays), and the misconceptions around nuclear safety, including reactor meltdowns and waste management.

As data centers increasingly explore nuclear as a viable energy source, this conversation offers crucial insights into how the sector may evolve in the coming years.

Aalo Atomics Aims to Reshape Data Center Power with Modular Nuclear Pods

Aalo Atomics, which as mentioned above closed a $29.5 million Series A funding round in 2024, is developing a 50-megawatt modular nuclear power solution designed specifically for data centers. At the heart of Aalo’s approach is a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor that requires no water for cooling, a design inspired by the Department of Energy’s aformentioned Marvel microreactor program at INL.

“In just 30 months, Marvel became the first reactor the DOE has ever authorized for construction,” said Aalo's Loszak. The company has recruited key members from the Marvel project, including its chief architect, to accelerate development.

Unlike many nuclear ventures that focus solely on reactors, Aalo’s product is the "AaloPod"—a modular system housing five reactors and a single turbine in an N+1 configuration. This setup provides 50 megawatts of continuous power with high availability, designed to meet the redundancy and uptime requirements of hyperscale data centers. “When one reactor is down for refueling or maintenance, you can either overclock the others or rely on the extra unit to maintain five nines of uptime,” Loszak explained.

A New Approach to Modular Nuclear

While traditional gigawatt-scale nuclear plants like the AP1000 have proven successful, their long development timelines—often exceeding a decade—make them impractical for the rapidly growing data center sector. Meanwhile, Loszak contends that small modular reactors (SMRs) have gained attention but often require extensive on-site construction, making them less adaptable for decentralized deployments.

Loszak positions Aalo’s technology as a distinct third category—what the company calls an exemplar reactor. “Not just the reactor is modular, but the whole plant is modular,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of the system is factory-built, including steel composite modules, the reactor, and key components of the primary and secondary systems.” This manufacturing approach aims to streamline deployment and enable faster scalability.

Timeline and Industry Demand

With major hyperscalers increasingly focused on long-term nuclear investments, Aalo sees a window of opportunity. “Data centers aren’t waiting for anyone,” Loszak noted, pointing to the rapid installation of gas turbines—such as Elon Musk’s recent 50-megawatt deployment in Memphis—as a stopgap measure. However, while gas turbines provide immediate power, they face regulatory scrutiny and emissions concerns.

In contrast, Aalo is pursuing an aggressive timeline to bring its nuclear solution online. The company plans to begin construction on its first full-scale experimental reactor at INL in partnership with the DOE as early as next year. “Marvel went from concept to construction approval in 30 months. We’re aiming to move just as fast,” Loszak said.

With its modular design, high availability, and strategic alignment with hyperscale power demands, Aalo Atomics is positioning its AaloPod as a compelling alternative for data center operators looking to future-proof their energy strategies.

Leveraging Proven Fuel for Safety and Speed

Aalo’s design builds on lessons from the Marvel microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), which uses uranium zirconium hydride fuel. This material, commonly found in university research reactors, exhibits an inherent safety mechanism: a strong negative temperature coefficient.

"You can actually pull the control rods out as fast as possible, almost pneumatically eject them," Loszak explained. "And the fuel essentially in a millisecond pulses from a megawatt to a gigawatt and then shuts itself off inherently from the physics of the fuel—without requiring larger engineered systems."

This safety profile aligns with Aalo’s focus on speed and efficiency. Unlike some other microreactor designs that rely on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)—a fuel source complicated by supply chain disruptions following geopolitical tensions—Aalo’s approach circumvents these constraints.

Racing to Deployment with a Pro-Nuclear Tailwind

Aalo is moving aggressively to bring its modular nuclear solutions to market. Loszak noted that past efforts in nuclear energy faced uncertainty due to public perception and regulatory hurdles. However, with growing industry and government support for nuclear, Aalo benefits from a more favorable landscape.

"The past 15 years, there was a lot of uncertainty," he said. "But we have the benefit of a very pro-nuclear environment, and we intend to push that even further forward."

Aalo’s team, which includes experts from the Marvel program, is applying recent regulatory and technical experience to fast-track its own reactors. The company’s philosophy is clear: prioritize speed and economic viability while ensuring safety through established best practices.

"We don’t get married to certain technologies," Loszak emphasized. "We care about building this as fast as possible, as economically as possible. Safety is just a given—nuclear is already as safe as solar and wind."

Scaling for Data Center Demand

Aalo’s initial product, the AaloPod, bundles five 10-megawatt reactors into a 50-megawatt configuration. This aligns with the common power increments used in data center expansions.

"Our first reactor is the 10-megawatt electric reactor," Loszak confirmed. "In a pod configuration, that’s a 50-megawatt product. Ten megawatts is kind of the threshold we’ve determined—it’s the smallest, most venture-fundable reactor that can still be commercially viable for some data centers."

Looking ahead, Aalo is also exploring larger-scale deployments. Future iterations could scale to 100 megawatts per reactor to meet the needs of mega-campuses. This would position nuclear as a viable alternative to grid-dependent power, potentially enabling full islanding strategies for hyperscale data centers.

With data center operators seeking long-term, sustainable energy solutions—and hyperscalers already experimenting with gas turbine installations—Aalo’s approach could provide a key bridge to a nuclear-powered future.

The Path to Gigawatt-Scale Nuclear for Data Centers: Balancing Scale and Modularity

As Aalo Atomics accelerates its efforts to deploy modular nuclear reactors for data centers, the long-term vision is clear: scaling to gigawatt capacity while optimizing cost, siting flexibility, and fueling strategies.

The nuclear industry has long debated whether gigawatt-scale power is best achieved through fewer, large reactors or a fleet of smaller ones. Aalo is taking a pragmatic approach, evaluating configurations ranging from 10 reactors at 100 megawatts each to 100 reactors at 10 megawatts each.

“There’s an interesting cost physics that emerges here that people might not have fully thought through,” said CEO Matt Loszak. “The question is: Where is the optimal balance between economy of number and economy of scale?”

Smaller reactors come with trade-offs in neutron economy, but they offer advantages in reliability and operational uptime. By distributing power generation across a reactor fleet, Aalo’s approach enables near-continuous operation—even during refueling.

“If you’re refueling one reactor out of a fleet of 100 at any given time, the rest are running at max power,” Loszak explained. “That’s constant revenue for the operator, which makes the value proposition more attractive to customers.”

Additionally, advanced reactors require less frequent refueling, reducing both costs and downtime. Aalo is modeling these factors to determine the most economical path to gigawatt-scale deployment.

Unlocking New Siting Opportunities

Another advantage of Aalo’s sodium-cooled reactor design is its ability to operate without an open-loop water cooling system. This expands siting possibilities into water-constrained regions such as Texas or even desert environments—locations where hyperscale data centers are increasingly being built.

“You can site these reactors in places where traditional nuclear wouldn’t work,” Loszak noted. “That’s a pretty big advantage as we think about future deployments.”

The Potential for Waste-to-Energy Reactors

Aalo is also exploring future iterations of its technology that leverage fast spectrum reactors—a design that allows nuclear waste to be used as fuel.

“Nuclear waste is like taking a bite out of a sandwich and setting it aside,” Loszak said. “Most of the energy content is still there after you put it through a normal reactor.”

By tapping into spent nuclear fuel, fast reactors could create a closed-loop fuel cycle while further reducing refueling requirements. For data centers, this could result in an AaloPod system that remains operational for the entire duration of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), eliminating mid-term refueling costs.

“That could be a game-changer,” Loszak emphasized. “Refueling is a cost factor, so eliminating it for the full PPA term makes nuclear even more attractive for data center operators.”

Aalo’s Next Steps: Factory Launch and Deployment

Aalo Atomics is moving quickly. The company is preparing to unveil its first non-nuclear prototype and reactor factory pilot line in the next two months. This milestone will provide a tangible look at Aalo’s modular approach before full nuclear deployment begins.

“For now, we’ve built out the non-nuclear prototype and the reactor factory,” Loszak said. “We’re hosting a grand unveiling soon, and we’d love for the industry to take a closer look.”

With growing data center power demands and an increasing push for sustainable energy, Aalo Atomics is positioning itself at the cutting edge of nuclear-powered infrastructure. As the company refines its designs and deployment strategies, the industry will be watching closely to see if modular nuclear becomes the next frontier in hyperscale power.

Discussion Timeline:

The 10 megawatt sodium cooled reactor is discussed. The reactor requires no water and is inspired by a Department of Energy microreactor design. 0:50
The Aalo Atomics pod consists of five reactors and one turbine. This configuration aims to provide 50 megawatts with high availability for data centers. 2:03
The potential deployment timeline for the pod at a data center is questioned. The discussion hints at the proximity of microreactors to deployment compared to other reactor types. 3:30
The nuclear landscape is outlined for data centers. A focus is placed on the optimal pod configuration for high availability. 4:07
Micro reactors and small modular reactors are discussed. The concept of an exemplar modular reactor design is introduced. 5:24
The timeline for data center energy solutions is addressed. Data centers are rapidly installing gas turbines without waiting for other solutions. 7:46
Elon Musk's data center project in Memphis is discussed. It involved 50 megawatts and 100,000 GPUs. 8:01
Concerns from the local community about environmental impacts are raised. The use of portable turbines as a loophole is mentioned. 8:18
A timeline for construction of a new reactor is outlined. Construction is targeted to start next year. 9:37
The Marvel microreactor design is discussed. The fuel used is uranium zirconium hydride. 10:16
The safety features of the Marvel reactor are highlighted. The reactor can shut itself off without external systems. 10:37
Aalo's progress in the nuclear field is addressed. The team aims to build reactors quickly and economically. 13:15
Discussion centers on the scale of data centers. A 10 megawatt reactor is identified as the optimal size for commercial viability. 15:39
Future learning about reactor configurations is anticipated. The debate on reactor sizes and their economic implications is highlighted. 16:31
Economic benefits of reactor refueling operations are analyzed. The conversation concludes with insights on the cost-effectiveness of smaller reactors. 18:28

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