Develops the Pebble-Bed SMR Xe-100 and manufactures TRISO fuel (TRISO-X) based on HALEU.
X-Energy, Inc.
Rockville, Maryland · Oak Ridge, TennesseeNew on Amplifa
About X-Energy
X-Energy, Inc. is a US nuclear reactor and fuel technology company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The company develops the Xe-100, a small modular, helium-cooled and graphite-moderated high-temperature pebble bed reactor (HTGR) with 200 MWth or around 80 MWe per module. In addition, X-energy produces its own TRISO fuel called TRISO-X: thousands of spherical fuel elements whose particles consist of HALEU cores (20% enriched uranium) surrounded by three layers of carbon and ceramic materials. Pilot production has been running since 2016 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; the commercial fuel plant TX-1 (5 t uranium/year) is also being built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with operations planned to start in 2027, and a larger plant TX-2 (20 t uranium/year) is under development. Customers and partners include Dow, Energy Northwest, Amazon, Centrica and the US Department of Energy (DOE).
- Site
- Rockville, Maryland
- Processes
- TRISO fuel manufacturing (pilot line, TX-1), High-temperature gas-cooled pebble bed reactor Xe-100 (SMR, 200 MWth / ~80 MWe, helium-cooled), Development and construction of SMRs (Xe-100 pebble bed HTGR), Production of TRISO fuel (TRISO-X)
- Materials
- HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium, 20% enriched), Graphite (moderator/fuel cladding material), Helium (coolant gas), Carbon/ceramic (TRISO coating layers), Graphite, Helium
- Certificates
- NRC Category II license (TX-1/TX-2)
- Founded
- 2009
- Industries
- Nuclear energy, SMR/fuel technology, Energy supply for industry and data centers, SMR/fuel technology
- 01
Engineering and reactor design Xe-100
- 02
TRISO fuel manufacturing (pilot line, TX-1)
- 03
Assembly and deployment of reactor modules with partners
- 04
Fuel supply to operators (Long Mott, Cascade, Hartlepool)
Materials and Processes
HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium, 20% enriched)
Uranium fuel core of the TRISO particles, enables longer operating cycles without refueling.
Carbon/ceramic (TRISO coating layers)
Triple coating of the fuel cores, which retains fission products even at extreme temperatures.
Graphite
Moderator and cladding material of the spherical fuel elements of the Xe-100.
Helium
Inert coolant gas that leaves the reactor at over 750 °C and generates process heat or steam.
Locations
Rockville
USHeadquarters
Oak Ridge (ORNL)
USTRISO-X pilot production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Lot size
- Pilot scale
- Materials
- HALEU, carbon, ceramic, graphite
- TRISO-X pilot fuel manufacturing line
Oak Ridge (TX-1)
USCommercial TRISO-X fuel plant, operation planned from 2027
- Lot size
- Commercial scale
- Materials
- HALEU
- TX-1 fuel plant (5 t uranium/year)
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRISO fuel manufacturing (pilot line, TX-1)Engineering | – | – | – | – | HALEU (uranium, 20% enriched), Carbon, Ceramic, Graphite |
| High-temperature gas-cooled pebble bed reactor Xe-100 (SMR, 200 MWth / ~80 MWe, helium-cooled)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Helium, Graphite, Uranium (HALEU) |
3 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRISO-X pilot fuel manufacturing line | X-energy | 1 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | – | Oak Ridge, TN |
| Commercial fuel plant TX-1 | X-energy TX-1 | 1 | 5 metric tons uranium/year | Betriebsst | Oak Ridge, TN |
| Planned fuel plant TX-2 | X-energy TX-2 | 1 | 20 metric tons uranium/year | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and Approvals
The TX-1 and TX-2 plants were approved in 2026 by the US nuclear regulator NRC with the first-ever issued Category II license for handling HALEU; a final NRC inspection date before the start of operations is planned.
| Evidence | Oak Ridge |
|---|---|
| NRC Category II license (TX-1/TX-2) |
Company History
- 2009
Founded by Kam Ghaffarian.
- 2016
DOE Advanced Reactor Concept Cooperative Agreement with funding of up to USD 40 million over five years; start of TRISO-X pilot production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
- 2019
Clay Sell becomes CEO; funding from the US Department of Defense for small military reactors (Project Pele).
- 2020
Selected by the DOE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program with funding of USD 400 million to USD 4 billion for an Xe-100 demonstration reactor.
- 2022
Curtiss-Wright as preferred supplier for three critical Xe-100 components; NRC license application for TX-1; failed SPAC deal with Ares Acquisition (USD 2 billion).
- 2023
Agreement with Dow on the Long Mott Generating Station on the Gulf of Mexico; termination of the SPAC deal, raising of USD 235 million.
- 2024
Amazon invests and finances four Xe-100 reactors; target of up to 5 GW (Cascade Advanced Energy Facility) for data centers.
- 2025
Agreement with Centrica for up to 12 Xe-100 units at the Hartlepool site (UK, target 6 GW); NRC construction application for Long Mott submitted; start of construction of TX-1.
- 2026
IPO on NASDAQ on 24.04.2026 with proceeds of over USD 1 billion; NRC grants Category II license for TX-1/TX-2.