X-energy, TerraPower share updates on advanced reactor projects

X-energy to get another $1 billion: During its second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Clay Sell said the DOE notified X-energy that it would receive an additional $1 billion in cost-shared funding for its Long Mott project. The company wants to build four Xe-100 reactors at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations, a chemical production facility in Seadrift, Texas. It would be the first advanced reactor deployment of its kind at an industrial site in North America.

Combined with the $1 billion X-energy has already received from DOE, the company will have received roughly $2.15 billion for the Seadrift project, Sell said. X-energy will be required to follow the same cost-share requirements as in the earlier allocation.

“Our project with Dow is important not only because it is our initial deployment but because of the unmatched versatility for nuclear energy that it represents,” Sell said.

He highlighted other key second-quarter moments and developments for the company during the call, including the following:

• Entering into long-term agreements for high-assay low-enriched uranium enrichment services with Centrus Energy Corp. and General Matter.
• Entering into an agreement with SGL Carbon to expand manufacturing capacity for nuclear-grade graphite.
• Receiving an $11 million economic development grant from Tennessee to support its TRISO-X fuel fabrication campus in Oak Ridge.
• Acquiring roughly 70 acres adjacent to its Oak Ridge campus to expand its TRISO-X footprint.

With regard to Long Mott, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to complete its construction permit review later this year, with a permit issuance decision likely in the first half of 2027, according to Sell. X-energy is also expected to submit its construction permit application to the NRC in the first half of next year for the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility project in Washington state with Amazon and Energy Northwest.

Lastly, an announcement of a 1-GW project with an unnamed utility is coming “in the near future,” Sell said.

TerraPower, South Korean companies reach deals: TerraPower is looking to strengthen its ties with South Korea and has reached agreements with Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HDEC) and SK Innovation to develop and commercialize the Natrium reactor in the United States, Korea, and select international markets. This comes after TerraPower officials—including founder and chair Bill Gates and president and CEO Chris Levesque—traveled to South Korea to meet with Prime Minister Seong-sook Han and leaders from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, HD Hyundai, HDEC, and SK Innovation.

Under the agreement reached with HDEC, the Korean company will be TerraPower's engineering, procurement, and construction contractor and will build up to eight of its Natrium reactors with completion, price, and performance guarantees. TerraPower is currently constructing its first Natrium reactor—a 345-MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with molten salt heat storage to temporarily boost power output to 500 MWe—in Kemmerer, Wyo.

TerraPower’s term-sheet agreement with SK Innovation clears a pathway for Korea's first Natrium plant, along with plans to expand internationally. The two companies will explore opportunities to collaborate on engineering and digital innovation solutions, including digital twin technology and artificial intelligence, the news release said.

“Today marks a pivotal moment for TerraPower as we embark on a new chapter of international collaboration with Korea’s leading organizations,” Levesque said. “Combining TerraPower’s innovative advanced nuclear technology with Korea’s nuclear construction and operational expertise will strengthen our global cooperation and accelerate the deployment of a Natrium fleet that will transform the world's energy landscape.”