By Mackenzie Tatananni

Oklo, the nuclear power start-up, announced Tuesday that it had entered into a partnership to explore ways to recycle and reprocess nuclear fuel on a shared campus.

Oklo said it had signed an memorandum of understanding with nuclear fuel developer Lightbridge to evaluate plans to co-locate their commercial fuel fabrication facilities.

The partners will conduct a feasibility study to explore placing Lightbridge's fuel fabrication facility within Oklo's proposed fuel recycling facility, the companies said.

Co-location could reduce upfront capital expenditures and ongoing operating costs, Lightbridge CEO Seth Grae said in a press release. He dubbed the partnership "an important strategic step in shaping the future of clean energy."

January has shaped into a busy month for Oklo. On Jan. 17, the start-up said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with RPower, a Texas-based power generation company, to deploy a phased energy model for data centers.

Oklo went public in May 2024 after merging with AltC Acquisition Corp., a special-purchase acquisition company headed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The clean energy company, which is in its pre-revenue stage, aims to install its Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory by the end of 2027.

On Friday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives raised his price target on Oklo stock to $45 from $26 while maintaining an Outperform rating.

Ives initiated coverage in December, arguing that Oklo was positioned to capitalize on the so-called "AI revolution," which has driven a significant demand for clean energy.

His bull thesis remains rooted in Oklo's business model. Rather than supply reactors under long-term contracts, the company builds, owns, and operates its powerhouses, selling power directly to customers instead.

This strategy provides long-term recurring revenues while "reducing many pain points within nuclear projects," Ives said.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2025 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.