America’s nuclear comeback just reached a milestone that could change where the country’s reactor fuel comes from | Daily Reports Online
- X-energy has completed the main structure of its Tennessee fuel plant called TX-1
- The facility could eventually produce 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually
- TX-1 will be America’s first new commercial-scale advanced fuel facility in decades
X-energy has completed the main structure of TX-1, a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The 214,000-square-foot plant, developed by subsidiary TRISO-X, represents the first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel facility built domestically in over 50 years.
Clark Construction Group, the contractor handling the project, oversaw this vertical construction phase, clearing the path toward interior systems and eventual equipment installation.
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Manufacturing capacity built for a growing fleet of reactors
TRISO fuel consists of tiny uranium particles wrapped in multiple carbon- and ceramic-based protective layers for durability.
Those layered coatings contain fission products while letting the fuel withstand temperatures far higher than conventional nuclear fuel typically tolerates.
The TX-1 plant is expected to produce roughly 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually when it commences full operations, consuming about 5 metric tons of uranium, which would supply enough fuel for as many as 11 of X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced reactor units combined.
Each Xe-100 reactor module produces 80 megawatts of electricity, with four combined modules forming one standard 320-megawatt plant.
TX-1 will initially supply fuel for X-energy’s planned Xe-100 deployment at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site in Texas.
“Completing vertical construction is a major milestone for TX-1 and another tangible demonstration of the progress our team is making in Oak Ridge,” said Joel Duling, president of TRISO-X.
Clark Construction Group will now shift focus toward process equipment, an administration building, and an adjacent graphite matrix powder facility.
Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the plant a 40-year Special Nuclear Material License for operations ahead.
X-energy says this represents the first NRC Category 2 fuel fabrication license issued for processing high-assay low-enriched uranium, known as HALEU.
Expanding beyond one site as demand for advanced fuel grows
TRISO-X has separately expanded its broader Oak Ridge nuclear fuel campus by approximately 70 additional acres of land.
The company also extended its existing research partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory while beginning construction on a separate facility.
That new facility, called TX-L, will function as a dedicated research and development site going forward.
Beyond the Dow project, X-energy is pursuing additional Xe-100 deployments with Energy Northwest, Amazon, and Centrica as future customers.
Each new reactor project would add further demand for the specialized fuel TX-1 is being built to eventually produce.
Finishing the building’s main structure does not mean fuel manufacturing can begin immediately at this location.
X-energy must still install specialized production equipment, commission interior systems, and prepare the facility for full commercial operations ahead.
No completion date has been disclosed for TX-1, but when completed, it would give the United States its first new domestic source of advanced reactor fuel in decades.
That outcome would also reduce reliance on foreign uranium suppliers while supporting new clean energy projects already planned with Amazon, Energy Northwest, and Centrica.
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