Innovative Clean Energy Partnership Addresses Critical Data Center Power and Cooling Challenges
Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company, and Vertiv, a global leader of critical digital infrastructure, announced a collaboration agreement focused on the co-development of advanced power and thermal management solutions tailored specifically for hyperscale and colocation data centers, powered by steam and electricity from Oklo’s advanced nuclear power plants. The pilot technology demonstration is planned for the initial Oklo Aurora powerhouse.
In response to surging data center power demand in the U.S., Oklo and Vertiv are joining forces to revolutionize data center operations through an integrated solution that co-optimizes power and cooling, with Oklo’s reliable clean energy generation and Vertiv’s specifically designed advanced power and thermal management systems. By leveraging heat from Oklo’s onsite power plant to drive Vertiv’s cooling systems, the collaboration will significantly enhance data center energy efficiency. This approach delivers resilient power for demanding AI and high-performance computing operations while reducing environmental impact. The companies will work together to produce end-to-end reference designs for data centers that use Oklo’s onsite power plants.
“This agreement is about delivering clean power, energy-efficient cooling, and infrastructure solutions purpose-built for AI factories, data centers, and high density compute,” said Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo. “We are developing a plant concept that leverages proven, off-the-shelf components without altering the core design of our plants. Vertiv is an expert in cooling and power innovation for data centers and critical infrastructure, so co-designing these solutions from the outset, we can create greater value and efficiency for data center and infrastructure operators.”
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Vertiv CEO Gio Albertazzi stated, “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. Vertiv is committed to driving innovation with the higher cooling capacities and energy efficiencies required to support modern data centers.”
Oklo’s approach to power generation is designed to adapt quickly to market needs, offering customers more usable energy and enabling seamless teamwork between the power source and data center operations. By co-designing energy and thermal management from the beginning, and by deploying at a site adjacent to customer demand, Oklo and Vertiv will deliver a unified solution that simplifies deployment and enables improved performance and energy efficiency of data centers. These capabilities are uniquely enabled by Oklo’s role as the owner and operator of its power plants, allowing for deeper integration with customer infrastructure and greater flexibility in how and where data centers are deployed.
“This partnership shows how Oklo is thinking about how and where advanced nuclear can be deployed,” added DeWitte. “We’re enhancing what already works to meet the needs of fast-growing industries with the speed, flexibility, and direct integration that our model is built to deliver.”
This collaboration marks an important step in exploring how advanced nuclear energy can support the evolving power and cooling needs of data centers and other high-growth sectors, an increasing emphasis in Oklo’s growing customer pipeline.
Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale, establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes, and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and national laboratories.
Vertiv brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv does business in more than 130 countries.
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