Home/Side Quests/Aurora-INL Evidence

Side Quest 001 / Nuclear energy

Aurora-INL
Deployment Evidence

A public record of Aurora-INL is emerging across three parallel paths: limited early construction, DOE safety-basis development, and A3F fuel-facility work—alongside NRC pre-application engagement for a prospective commercial path. This model separates those facts from project logic and from what the record does not yet establish.

12 evidence stagesDOE ≠ NRCA3F parallel pathPrimary sources

Reviewed 14 July 2026. This is an independent, public-source analytical model—not an Oklo schedule, authorization statement, or proprietary design disclosure.

The reactor is built twice.

Once on site. Once in evidence.

Interactive deployment model

The site and the evidence record advance together

Physical completion creates the asset. Accepted evidence creates permission to use it.

Public-evidence model · reviewed 14 Jul 2026Site basis / 01
Conceptual oblique view of a surveyed dry-site advanced-reactor project, showing a defined boundary and site-characterization activity.
Aurora-INL location identifiedSite characterization reportedDesign detail remains bounded

Stage 01Site basis

Drag, swipe, or select a stage

Site basis

Establish the Aurora-INL site basis

Public INL reporting places Aurora south of the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and reports site-characterization and geotechnical work. That establishes a location and early site basis—not a completed nuclear-island design.

Expert brief / 01

Confirmed public fact

Establish the Aurora-INL site basis

Public INL reporting places Aurora south of the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and reports site-characterization and geotechnical work. That establishes a location and early site basis—not a completed nuclear-island design.

Evidence boundary: Location and early site work are public; detailed site-design outputs are not.

Physical work

Define the authorized disturbance area; characterize site conditions; and identify interfaces with access, utility, security, and surrounding INL operations.

Evidence work

Maintain the site characterization record, environmental boundary, design assumptions, and interface responsibilities that later work must respect.

Acceptance gate

The public record supports a defined Aurora-INL location and early characterization; detailed design criteria and construction-release packages are not public.

Accountable: DOE Idaho, INL, and Oklo project teams

Working vocabulary

INLIdaho National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy laboratory site in Idaho where the Aurora-INL project and the Materials and Fuels Complex are located.

MFCMaterials and Fuels Complex

An INL campus supporting nuclear-material and fuel-cycle work; public INL reporting places Aurora south of it.

SSCStructures, Systems, and Components

The physical plant items whose functions and safety significance must be identified and controlled.

Primary references for this stage

Open the detailed technical deckOpen current deck PDF

The full sequence

A public-evidence model, not a construction schedule

The first five stages report the defined early-work boundary. The middle stages track DOE, design, and A3F evidence. The final stages are deliberately marked as inference or not publicly established rather than filled with generic nuclear milestones.

  1. 01

    Site basis

    Site basis

  2. 02

    DOE boundary

    DOE scope

  3. 03

    Early works

    Early works

  4. 04

    Support civil

    Support civil

  5. 05

    Excavate

    Excavate

  6. 06

    Safety basis

    Safety basis

  7. 07

    Design + supply

    Design + supply

  8. 08

    Fuel pathway

    A3F fuel

  9. 09

    Nuclear island

    Nuclear island

  10. 10

    Plant interfaces

    Plant interfaces

  11. 11

    Readiness

    Readiness

  12. 12

    Startup

    Startup

Method and limits

What this model is and is not

Evidence classification

Every stage is labeled as a confirmed public fact, a supported inference, or not publicly established. The classification is as important as the content.

Fast-reactor context

INL publicly describes Aurora as a liquid-sodium, metallic-fuel fast reactor. This site does not infer a sodium-system layout, component configuration, construction method, cost, or schedule.

Authorization paths differ

The Aurora-INL pilot proceeds through a DOE path. The NRC page records pre-application topics for a prospective commercial path. A DOE PDSA, a DOE CX, and an NRC license are not substitutes for one another.

Source ledger