X-Energy, a nuclear technology company, has announced a successful Series C-1 financing round, securing $500 million to advance its small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The investment round was spearheaded by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, underscoring the tech giant’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions.
This financial backing coincides with plans to incorporate X-Energy’s reactor design into a 320 MW project with Energy Northwest, a regional utility in central Washington. Furthermore, the companies have established a collaboration to bring more than 5 GW of SMR projects online across the United States by 2039, representing the most ambitious commercial deployment target for SMRs to date.
Amazon’s 2019 pledge to power its global operations entirely with renewable energy by 2030 has seen significant progress. While the company announced in July 2024 that it had achieved its 100% clean energy goal seven years ahead of schedule, it also highlighted the escalating energy demands driven by generative AI. This has prompted Amazon to explore diverse carbon-free energy sources, in addition to its continued investment in renewable technologies.
Kevin Miller, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Data Centers, emphasized the significance of the partnership: “This collaboration between Amazon and X-energy is a significant step toward accelerating advanced nuclear technologies that can help us bring new sources of carbon-free energy to the grid cost-effectively and safely. We need smart solutions that can help us meet growing energy demands while also addressing climate change. X-energy’s technology will be integral in helping achieve this, and is an important step in Amazon’s work to achieve our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero by 2040.”
SMRs, substantially smaller than conventional nuclear power plants, offer advantages such as accelerated construction timelines and the potential for deployment closer to the power grid, all while supplying carbon-free energy. X-Energy, established in 2009 and based in Rockville, Maryland, focuses on nuclear reactor and fuel technology development.
X-Energy’s TRISO-X fuel encapsulates uranium particles in a protective coating that withstands high temperatures without melting. This design enhances the fuel’s resilience against failure and the release of radioactive materials, eliminating the requirement for extensive containment facilities. The company’s Xe-100 SMR is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that operates at over 750°C. It utilizes over 200,000 TRISO-X-based fuel pebbles, which are continuously rotated through the reactor core via gravity, enabling the reactor to operate without fuel interruptions for up to 60 years. Helium circulates through the core, absorbing the heat and converting water into steam to drive a turbine for carbon-free energy generation.
The initial agreement with Amazon will support a four-unit, 320 MW project, with a potential increase to 12 SMR units producing 960 MW. J. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy, highlighted the transformative potential of the partnership: “Amazon and X-energy are poised to define the future of advanced nuclear energy in the commercial marketplace. To fully realize the opportunities available through artificial intelligence, we must bring clean, safe, and reliable electrons onto the grid with proven technologies that can scale and grow with demand.”
The financing round also attracted investments from Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin, affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, NGP, and the University of Michigan. X-Energy plans to allocate the new capital towards finalizing its reactor design and licensing, initiating the first phase of its TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and supporting future carbon-free projects utilizing the Xe-100 SMR reactors.
Kam Ghaffarian, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Chairman of X-Energy, expressed his views on the achievement: “Reaching this milestone is a testament to the dedication of the X-energy team and the essential energy solutions we’ve built. We remain focused on bringing our advanced reactor technology to market, enabling a future powered by sustainable, zero-carbon energy.”
