WARRINGTON, England—December 6, 2023 – X-Energy UK Holdings, Ltd (“X-energy”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC, today released Beyond Electricity, a new report from nuclear heat applications specialist Equilibrion detailing how the United Kingdom can accelerate its progress to net zero emissions with advanced nuclear plants.
The report summarises work undertaken in Northeast England’s Teesside as a case study. High-temperature steam (565°c) from advanced reactors can be used to replace fossil-fuel-generated heat in process industries like chemicals, or to produce hydrogen or clean jet fuels. It can also help improve the efficiency of technologies designed to strip carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The report highlights that the region, with its strong industrial base, has a major demand for high temperature heat and steam and is building the infrastructure to support a range of net zero industries.
X-energy, working in partnership with Cavendish Nuclear, is planning a fleet of up to 40 of its advanced small modular Xe-100 power reactors in the UK, creating thousands of high-quality jobs in construction and operations. X-energy is proposing to develop a £multi-billion 12-reactor plant at Hartlepool, to be ready by the early 2030s.
X-energy’s intrinsically safe advanced small modular reactor (“SMR”) and TRISO-X fuel greatly expands applications and markets for deployment of nuclear technology relative to other SMRs and conventional nuclear. Its high-temperature gas reactor (“HTGR”) technology can support broad industrial use applications through its high-temperature heat and steam output. In addition, it can integrate into and address the needs of both large and regional electricity systems through more efficient load ramping and can support intermittent renewable (solar and wind) and other clean energy options with reliable baseload generation.
“This is a huge opportunity for Teesside and the country as a whole. There is a skilled nuclear workforce, with decades of experience of high temperature gas reactor technology, already in place at Hartlepool Power Station and the plant will be reaching the end of its life just as our project entered development and construction,” said Carol Tansley, X-energy’s Vice President of UK New Build Projects. “We can provide high quality local jobs and the broadest range of decarbonisation options for the area’s industrial base, and then use that experience to benefit similar regions across the UK.”
“Nuclear energy offers a major boost to industrial clusters seeking to rapidly reduce emissions and improve competitiveness by providing stable, local, low-carbon energy with long-term price certainty,” said Dr. Philip Rogers, Director at Equilibrion. “The opportunities on Teesside are clear, and with another five large industrial clusters around England and Wales, the potential national socio-economic benefits are huge, enabling long-term, economy-wide decarbonisation of transport and industry.”
Electricity use is responsible for less than a quarter of the UK’s annual carbon dioxide emissions, whereas demand from heat and transport represent more than twice the amount.
X-energy already has a project underway on the U.S. Gulf Coast which will produce high-temperature heat and power for the Seadrift, Texas, manufacturing facility of the materials science company Dow. Construction on X-energy’s four-reactor project in Texas is expected to begin in 2026 and to be completed by the end of this decade. The project is focused on providing the Seadrift site with safe, reliable, zero carbon emissions power and steam.
The first Xe-100 plant in the UK is slated to be a fast follower. Teesside is already a strong advocate of decarbonisation, with a target of being the first net zero cluster by 2040.
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Notes to Editors
About X-energy
X-energy UK Holdings, Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-energy Reactor Company, LLC, a leading developer of advanced small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation that is redefining the nuclear energy industry through its development of safer and more efficient reactors and proprietary fuel to deliver reliable, zero-carbon and affordable energy to people around the world. X-energy’s simplified, modular, and intrinsically safe SMR design expands applications and markets for deployment of nuclear technology and drives enhanced safety, lower cost and faster construction timelines when compared with conventional nuclear. For more information, visit X-energy.com or connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
About Equilibrion
Equilibrion is a specialist consulting and project development company with leading expertise in the role of nuclear energy for the decarbonisation of transport, industry and production of clean fuels. Our experience spans policy, technology, strategy, techno-economic assessment and commercial project development. https://equilibrion.co.uk/.
Contact
X-energy
Leon Flexman, Director, UK Corporate Affairs
+44 (0) 7920 143732