US-based developer X-energy and its subsidiary TRISO-X have commenced the vertical construction on its new nuclear fuel fabrication facility, known as TX-1, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The project marks the first facility of its kind in the US and is designed solely for manufacturing fuel for X-energy’s debut proposed deployment of the four-unit Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor plant.
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The Xe-100 is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor project being developed with Dow Chemical Company at its facility in Seadrift, Texas.
TX-1 will produce X-energy’s proprietary tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel that will be supplied to Xe-100.
Earlier in the year, X-energy awarded Clark Construction Group a $48.2m contract to deliver the core and shell of the 214,812ft² TX-1 building.
The current phase shifts progress from groundwork to full-scale construction, which is scheduled for completion by mid-2026.
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By GlobalDataUpon its completion, TX-1 will operate as the first Category II Fuel Fabrication Facility licensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and it will be the first new nuclear fuel facility constructed in the country in more than five decades.
The plant is expected to produce up to five tonnes of uranium annually, equating to 700,000 TRISO pebbles, sufficient to supply up to 11 Xe-100 reactors per year.
TRISO-X is working with the NRC throughout construction to support the licensing process and expects regulatory approval by May 2026.
TRISO-X president Joel Duling said: “The start of vertical construction marks another significant milestone in bringing our bold vision for the future of nuclear energy to life.
“As TX-1 takes shape, it will stand as a symbol of our team’s relentless dedication and determination to bring this transformative project forward in just a few years, not decades.”
To meet commercial requirements for its TRISO-X pebble fuel used in Xe-100 reactors, X-energy has launched qualification testing at Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor.
This work is being conducted with support from the US Department of Energy (DoE) and the National Reactor Innovation Center over a 13-month period and will assess performance across various operating conditions.
In March 2021, X-energy confirmed its entry into the DoE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program by signing a cooperative agreement, formalising its partnership with the DoE and initiating work on its advanced nuclear project.
The DoE selected X-energy as one of two award recipients for the programme in October 2020, allocating $80m in an initial funding round to assist X-energy in developing an advanced nuclear reactor capable of entering service within seven years.
Over the entire seven-year demonstration period, the DoE expects to provide around $1.23bn in support of X-energy’s work on this project.
In addition to plans at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations site in Texas, X-energy is pursuing a second Xe-100 plant at the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility with Energy Northwest and Amazon.
This forms part of an agreement with Amazon aimed at bringing over 5GW of new power projects online by 2039.
