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The phenomenon that makes stars shine and hydrogen bombs explode has yet to be reliably tamed for energy generation. But that isn’t stopping companies from trying.
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Neil Savage
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Neil Savage is a science and technology journalist in Massachusetts.
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About a dozen technicians, in hard hats and protective clothing, move around a large, double-height room. Some are checking pipes coming up through the floor into a raised, circular platform. Others work on instruments installed in one of two semicircular chambers. Another is focused on a pair of D-shaped objects that are big enough for a person to stand in and are set in an upright frame. With hole-studded rectangular plates jutting out from the arc of the D and horizontal grooves decorating the spine, they look like a 3D steampunk version of an initial letter from a medieval illuminated manuscript.
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Nature 656, S14-S15 (2026)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02511-7
This article is part of Nature Outlook: Nuclear power, a supplement produced with financial support from Oklo Inc.. Nature maintains full independence in all editorial decisions related to the content. About this content.
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