Crusoe And Aalo Plan 50MWe Reactor For Idaho AI Data Centre Pilot

A container-scale AI data centre pilot at Idaho National Laboratory is now tied to a direct small-reactor power plan, after Crusoe partnered with Aalo Atomics on a 2027 proof-of-concept deployment outlined by Data Center Dynamics.

The project pairs a Crusoe Spark modular data centre with Aalo's Pod reactor rather than a conventional utility-only power supply.

The reactor configuration gives the pilot its central constraint: the AI module can test a direct nuclear supply path, but portfolio use still depends on a later reactor rollout and full-power operating proof.

A 50MWe Pod Powers The Idaho Pilot

The pilot will use one Crusoe Spark unit at Idaho National Laboratory.

Data Center Dynamics described Aalo's Pod as a 50MWe reactor made up of five Aalo-1 microreactors of 10MWe each, linked to a single power-generating turbine.

Crusoe said the companies intend to deploy Aalo Pods across its data centre portfolio by the end of 2029.

That timetable leaves the Idaho unit as a proof-of-concept step before the reactor model can become part of wider Crusoe Cloud capacity.

The disclosed design puts the power source next to a modular computing load.

For AI infrastructure buyers, the relevant deployment issue is not only whether the container can run GPUs, but whether the reactor, cooling system, power distribution and monitoring stack can operate together at commercial availability.

Aalo-X Criticality Sits Before Commercial Power

Aalo reported that its Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory on July 4, 2026, under the US Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program.

Criticality means a reactor has achieved a self-sustaining chain reaction, not that it is already supplying commercial data-centre power.

Aalo-X is the precursor to the Aalo Pod.

The 50MW microreactor design uses five 10MWe reactors driving one turbine, with sodium and air cooling so the system does not require an external water source.

The cooling architecture is relevant to siting because data-centre power projects are increasingly constrained by both electricity and water access.

Aalo's architecture addresses the water side of that constraint, while the commercial test remains the shift from reactor milestone to data-centre service.

Spark Carries The Computing Load

Crusoe's Spark product is a prefabricated AI data centre inside a shipping-sized container.

The company presents the unit as a transportable chassis that integrates GPU racks, cooling, power distribution, remote monitoring and fire suppression, with capacity of just under 1MW.

The Spark unit is planned to feed into Crusoe Cloud.

The Idaho pilot becomes more than a standalone equipment test only if the compute container and the reactor supply can be connected to a usable cloud-service workflow.

Crusoe already has a separate nuclear power relationship.

Last October, the company partnered with Blue Energy on a planned campus of up to 1.5GW at the Port of Victoria in Victoria, Texas, where power is expected to start with natural gas as a bridge to nuclear generation.

The Idaho project therefore narrows the next proof point to one site and one modular reactor path.

Crusoe and Aalo have not disclosed commercial customers for the 2027 pilot.