Crusoe and Aalo Atomics to deploy first nuclear-powered AI data center at Idaho National Lab

Crusoe has entered into a partnership with small modular reactor (SMR) developer Aalo Atomics to build and operate what the companies describe as the world's first nuclear-powered AI data center. The collaboration marks a significant step in the industry's search for reliable, clean, and scalable power sources to support the rapid expansion of AI compute infrastructure.

Under the agreement, Crusoe will deploy one of its Crusoe Spark modular data centers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 2027 as a proof-of-concept project. The Spark unit will be powered directly by Aalo's Pod reactor, a 50MWe system composed of five individual Aalo-1 microreactors, each with a capacity of 10MWe, paired with a single power-generating turbine. Following the initial deployment, the companies intend to install Aalo Pods across Crusoe's broader data center portfolio by the end of 2029.

The announcement comes just weeks after Aalo achieved criticality for its Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor on July 4, 2026, at INL, meeting the deadline required under the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Reactor Pilot Program. Criticality, the point at which a nuclear reactor sustains a self-sustaining chain reaction, was reached by Aalo and three other advanced nuclear companies—Antares, Valar, and Deployable Energy—making Aalo one of only four firms to meet the program's timeline. The company broke ground on the test reactor in September of last year.

"The next generation of AI infrastructure demands power that is reliable, abundant, clean, and at scale, and Aalo's nuclear reactors are built to meet that need," said Cully Cavness, co-founder, president, and chief strategy officer at Crusoe. "One of Crusoe's core values is to 'bend the arc of energy toward sustainability,' and within that value we embrace the principle of using Crusoe's market position to support and accelerate energy innovation. In line with our core values, we look forward to Aalo and Crusoe jointly demonstrating to the industry the first AI data center powered by a small modular nuclear reactor."

The Aalo-X reactor is a precursor to the company's flagship Aalo Pod, a 50MW microreactor system that uses sodium and air cooling, requiring no external water source. The Crusoe Spark, announced in June of last year, is a prefabricated AI data center housed in a shipping-sized container. Each unit, with a capacity of just under 1MW, integrates GPU racks, cooling, power distribution, remote monitoring, and fire suppression into a transportable chassis, and is designed to feed into the Crusoe Cloud.

"As one of only four companies to reach criticality by President Trump's deadline for companies in the DOE Reactor Pilot Program, we are now well positioned for not only the full power operation of our 10 MWe Aalo-X reactor, but also the deployment of the Aalo Pod to power commercial data centers," said Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics. "We are now the only nuclear technology company to design and build a nuclear reactor fueled to produce 10MW of electricity – an achievement that positions Aalo as the premier power provider for the modern data center."

The deal is Crusoe's second with a nuclear power developer and its first with an advanced nuclear company. Last October, the firm partnered with U.S. nuclear energy firm Blue Energy to develop a nuclear-powered data center campus of up to 1.5GW at the Port of Victoria in Texas, with natural gas serving as an interim power source before nuclear comes online. This latest partnership with Aalo signals a broader industry trend toward behind-the-meter nuclear generation as data center operators seek to bypass grid constraints and secure dedicated, carbon-free power for AI workloads.