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X-energy, TerraPower share updates on advanced reactor projects
The two main players of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, X-energy and TerraPower, have both announced significant developments in their projects to deploy advanced commercial-scale reactors.
Hongwei Xu, Haibo Huang, Mark Ratledge, Casey Kong, Keven Sequoia, Steve MacLaren, Eduard Dewald, Corie Horwood, Robert Tipton, Darwin Ho
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 82 | Number 5 | July 2026 | Pages 1062-1068
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2025.2581539
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pushered single shell (PSS) has emerged as an alternative platform of implosion to ease the stability issue at the ablation front. The design consists of a thin inner Be layer, a 50% Cr:Be plateau region, an S-curve gradient, a low Cr (1.5%) tamper layer, and followed by a pure Be outer layer. General Atomics has developed a way to fabricate the higher-Z Cr to lower-Z Be gradients on glow discharge polymer mandrels with a designed S-shape profile for optimal implosion stability using magnetron sputtering. Microstructure analysis of the gradient coating indicated that at lower Cr concentration a short order or amorphous structure was formed. These fabricated PSS capsules were subsequently built into capsule fill tube assemblies, verified to be leak tight at both ambient and cryogenic conditions, and delivered to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the shots. The capsule thermal stability was demonstrated by invariable Cr profiles before and after pyrolysis. However, cracking at inner Cr layers was observed, which has been attributed to thermal stress.