Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company, has entered into two significant collaborative agreements this week, aiming to supply integrated energy solutions to data centers and large industrial operations. These alliances, with Liberty Energy and Vertiv, underscore the growing market demand for dispatchable, resilient, and efficient power and thermal management for hyperscale customers.
The partnership with Liberty Energy Alliance seeks to address the immediate energy bottlenecks faced by growth-constrained generation facilities. The companies plan to leverage Liberty’s Forte natural gas power generation and load management platform, which is an evolution of Liberty’s core digiPower technology. This technology uses compressed natural gas (CNG) in Rolls-Royce 20V4000 generator sets to achieve 43% thermal efficiency. Liberty Energy, an early investor in Oklo, committed $10 million in 2023, recognizing Oklo’s innovative business model, small and scalable design, and differentiated technology. The alliance aims to provide immediate, dispatchable power from Liberty’s natural gas generation while establishing a staged transition to baseload nuclear as Oklo’s Aurora powerhouses come online.
Ron Gusek, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty, stated, “Our strategic alliance with Oklo advances a power strategy aimed at accelerating deployment for sophisticated, large load customers. This innovative approach redefines how today’s most energy-intensive industries can scale efficiently with cost-effective, next-generation power solutions, combining rapid deployment, intelligent load management, and integrated grid management.”
Meanwhile, Oklo’s collaboration with Vertiv focuses on co-developing and piloting integrated power and thermal management installations to address the escalating challenge of cooling 100kW+ racks, common in AI and high-performance computing applications. The pilot demonstration will leverage the first Oklo Aurora powerhouse, integrating nuclear-generated electricity and process steam with advanced cooling systems developed by Vertiv. This collaboration targets hyperscale and colocation data centers experiencing unprecedented demand from AI workloads, which have altered thermal management requirements.
Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo, emphasized, “This agreement is about delivering clean power, energy-efficient cooling, and infrastructure solutions purpose-built for AI factories, data centers, and high density compute. We are developing a plant concept that leverages proven, off-the-shelf components without altering the core design of our plants.”
Vertiv, a critical digital infrastructure provider, offers a suite of advanced cooling technologies, including direct-to-chip liquid cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, immersion systems, and modular, prefabricated infrastructure. Gio Albertazzi, CEO of Vertiv, noted, “Our collaboration with Oklo is an extension of Vertiv’s commitment to energy-efficient infrastructure that supports modern data center demands. As the demand for AI and high-performance computing continues to grow, nuclear energy is increasingly a discussion point for hyperscale, colocation, and other large data centers.”
These strategic alliances could significantly shape the development of the energy sector by accelerating the deployment of advanced nuclear technology in large-scale applications. The integration of nuclear power with existing energy solutions could enhance grid resilience, optimize energy efficiency, and provide a stable baseload power source. As the demand for AI and high-performance computing continues to rise, these collaborations may set a precedent for future energy partnerships, driving innovation and sustainability in the sector.