From TechCrunch · Tim De Chant · · 1m 30s
X-energy wins permit for first US small modular reactors
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves construction of four Xe-100 reactors at a Texas chemical plant, marking a milestone for advanced nuclear technology.
In brief
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves construction of four Xe-100 reactors at a Texas chemical plant, marking a milestone for advanced nuclear technology. X-energy received federal approval to build its first four commercial small modular reactors at a Dow chemical plant in Texas, though safety critics question…
X-energy gets construction permit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved X-energy's application to build four Xe-100 reactors at a Dow chemical plant in Texas on Monday.
Each reactor's power output
Each Xe-100 reactor will generate eighty megawatts of electricity and two hundred megawatts of heat. X-energy says this is the first advanced nuclear reactor approval at an industrial site in the United States.
Timeline to operation unclear
No small modular reactor is currently operating in the US. X-energy says the Dow reactors will not be operational until the early two thousand thirty s.
Safety concerns raised
The Union of Concerned Scientists questioned X-energy's safety claims and the speed of approval. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety, said the NRC pushed critical safety questions to a later date.
“The NRC only accomplished this feat by pushing consideration of critical safety questions to a later date, issues the NRC should've fully resolved before green lighting construction.”
Tech giants backing the startup
Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund led X-energy's five hundred million dollar Series C-1 funding round. Amazon committed to buying five gigawatts of capacity from the nuclear startup.
Stock price struggles despite approval
X-energy raised one billion dollars in an April initial public offering but investor optimism has tempered. Shares now trade at less than half their initial offering price.
What it means
X-energy received federal approval to build its first four commercial small modular reactors at a Dow chemical plant in Texas, though safety critics question the speed of approval.
