These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.
A new generation of startups is trying to bring nuclear energy into the 21st century, developing smaller reactors that they say could be safer than old designs thanks to features like lower operating pressures, and cheaper, too, since they could theoretically be mass-produced. Oklo’s tiny reactor, the Aurora Powerhouse—which would be about 60 times smaller than a typical nuclear facility—is one of the farthest along, though the company ran into a regulatory roadblock in the U.S. early last year. Oklo recently signed a preliminary deal with the U.S. Air Force to build a reactor to power a base in Alaska.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- L.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5°C of Warming
- Home Losses From L.A. Fires Hasten ‘An Uninsurable Future’
- The Women Refusing to Participate in Trump’s Economy
- Bad Bunny On Heartbreak and New Album
- How to Dress Warmly for Cold Weather
- We’re Lucky to Have Been Alive in the Age of David Lynch
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Column: No One Won The War in Gaza
