TORONTO and ROCKVILLE, MD – January 17, 2024 – X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC (“X-energy” or the “Company”), a leading developer of advanced small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation, announced that it has successfully completed milestones in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (“CNSC”) pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (“VDR”). The Company submitted the design of its Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor to CNSC for a combined Phase 1 and 2 VDR process. Upon completion of these phases, CNSC concluded there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the Xe-100, an outcome that increases confidence in proceeding with formal license applications in Canada.
“The completion of the pre-licensing milestone underscores the regulatory and commercial readiness of the Xe-100 and demonstrates the opportunity to bring our advanced high-temperature gas reactor technology to the Canadian market,” said J. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy. “The work performed through the VDR and our engagements with the CNSC well position X-energy for future licensing applications. This is a great step forward for our high-temperature gas reactor technology and our future industrial and power generation deployments across Canada.”
The Company has been engaged with CNSC in its optional VDR process since July 2020, and included the submission of more than 400 technical documents and white papers across 19 focus areas in the review. The process provides an opportunity for advanced nuclear technology developers like X-energy to demonstrate understanding and compliance with Canadian licensing requirements and seek detailed feedback ahead of a formal license application. Feedback gathered during the process can be incorporated in future CNSC submissions and addressed in future VDR engagements. X-energy plans to pro-actively continue working with CNSC in pursuit of Phase 3 VDR in the future.
X-energy’s Xe-100 reactor and TRISO-X fuel are designed to be intrinsically safe, greatly expanding applications and markets for deployment of nuclear technology relative to other small modular and conventional nuclear reactors. The Xe-100 can also uniquely address a broader range of uses and applications, including applications that currently rely on fossil fuels to produce steam and high temperature heat for processes like manufacturing, natural resource extraction, petroleum refining and hydrogen production.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program is supporting X-energy’s initial deployment of the Xe-100 at Dow’s Seadrift, Texas facility and a new commercial facility to manufacture TRISO-X high-assay low-enriched uranium-based fuel for next-generation reactors. The project in Seadrift will be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.
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About X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC
X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC, is 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.
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Robert McEntyre
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