X-energy raises $700M in latest funding round

The funding round was led by the trading firm Jane Street and included new investors ARK Invest, Galvanize, Hood River Capital Management, Point72, Reaves Asset Management, XTX Ventures, and various others, as well as existing investors including Ares Management funds, Corner Capital, Emerson Collective, NGP, Segra Capital Management, and others.

“The response and commitment from the participants in this financing round is a strong affirmation of the role X-energy expects to play in shaping the future of energy,” said Kam Ghaffarian, the company’s founder and executive chair.

The order book: According to X-energy, the company has an order book of more than 11 GW, representing approximately 144 Xe-100 SMRs. The Xe-100 is an 80-MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that the company plans to deploy typically in four-reactor, 320-MWe units.

In 2023, X-energy began work with Dow on a four-unit Xe-100 plant for Dow’s Seadrift site in Calhoun, Texas. Called the Long Mott Generating Station, the development is being supported by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program and is currently under licensing review with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Following the project with Dow, X-energy and Amazon announced Amazon’s plan to build more than 5 GW of Xe-100 projects across United States by 2039, beginning with the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Washington state in partnership with Energy Northwest.

Additionally, X-energy is partnered with British multinational energy and services company Centrica to deploy 6 GW fleet of Xe-100 SMRs across the United Kingdom.

Fuel supply: Earlier this month, X-energy and its fuel fabrication subsidiary TRISO-X announced the start of aboveground construction for its TX-1 advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  The first-of-a-kind facility will manufacture the company’s TRISO fuel for use in the Xe-100.

Quote: “We are highly focused on building a world-class project and technology delivery platform to accelerate the commercialization of our Xe-100 reactor and TRISO-X fuel,” said X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell. “The success of this financing round allows us to deepen partnerships with critical deployment partners and invest in a robust and reliable supply chain to successfully deliver projects with our customers.”