X-energy says U.S. Department of Energy plans to add up to $1 billion in funding for Texas advanced nuclear reactor project

X-energy CEO Clay Sell said during an earnings call on August 13 that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has informed the company it will add up to $1 billion in public funding for the advanced nuclear energy project it is advancing with Dow Inc. in Texas.

Sell stated that total available public funding for the Dow project in Seadrift, Texas, will reach up to $2.15 billion since 2021. The additional funding will carry the same 50-50 cost-sharing requirement as the initial award.

The project is supported by the DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). The program accelerates the deployment of small advanced reactors through cost-shared partnerships with U.S. industry.

Sell said on the call that the project is expected to become the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed at an industrial site in North America. He also noted that DOE funding is the largest revenue source for X-energy at its current stage of development.

A spokesperson for the DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy confirmed that X-energy will receive up to $1 billion in additional funding under its ARDP agreement, subject to the same 50-50 cost-sharing requirement in the original agreement.

Dow and X-energy submitted a construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last year. X-energy expects the project to begin operations in the early 2030s. Once completed, the project will provide electricity and industrial steam to Dow's petrochemical and plastics facilities in Seadrift, replacing existing power and steam units.