Amazon Invests in X-Energy, Supports Small Reactors

Today, Amazon joined Microsoft and Google in their long-term commitment to purchasing nuclear power from entrepreneurs to power their data centers. This marks the latest major technology company to endorse nuclear power

In the Pacific Northwest and Virginia, two data center hotspots, the company disclosed three transactions, including an investment in startup X-Energy and two development agreements that are intended to add approximately 300 megawatts of capacity.

The two development agreements delineate the construction of small modular reactors (SMR), which are more cost-effective and efficient than modern nuclear power facilities. However, they produce only a small portion of the power.

Amazon anticipates that the reactors will commence electricity generation in the early 2030s.

The agreement with the Energy Northwest consortium of state public utilities in the Pacific Northwest will facilitate the construction of four SMRs that will collectively generate approximately 320 megawatts.

The total generating capacity could be increased to 960 megawatts through future expansion, sufficient to power approximately one million households.

Amazon and Dominion have agreed to “investigate the development” of 300 megawatts of SMRs near the North Anna, between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, in Virginia.

The technology from X-Energy, an SMR startup located in Rockville, Maryland, is anticipated to be employed in constructing those initiatives.

Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund led a new $500 million Series C-1 round into the company, supported by Citadel founder Ken Griffin, NGP, and the University of Michigan.

PitchBook reports that the company has raised $385 million to date, in addition to the new round.

X-Energy is a company that specializes in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. This approach was previously unpopular in the United States and Europe, but it has recently experienced a resurgence in Japan and China as new designs have arisen.

Upon completion, the Xe-100 reactor from X-Energy will produce 80 megawatts of electricity.

The uranium fuel is coated with three layers of carbon, and 18,000 of these poppy seed-sized particles are subsequently inserted into a billiard-ball-sized “pebble.” Each reactor utilizes 200,000 of these pebbles.

The helium is heated to 750 degrees Celsius as it travels between the pebbles. Steam is produced by the transfer of heat to water, which in turn powers a turbine.

The fuel system, TRISO, is marketed as being safer than current nuclear fuel designs, as the particles contain uranium at elevated temperatures.

The initial reactor of X-Energy will be constructed at a Dow chemical facility outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. The organization has not disclosed the project’s completion date.

The corporation plans to generate up to 5,000 megawatts of new nuclear power in the United States by 2039.

The recent agreements with Amazon, similar to the one Google announced on Monday with Kairos, provide a boost to nuclear fission in the face of the steady advancement of nuclear fusion and the increasing cost of power from renewable sources such as solar and wind, which have become significantly more affordable over the past decade.

Despite the widespread use of nuclear power, new reactor designs have not yet been commercially proven. Additionally, their timeline places them in direct competition with other carbon-free power sources expected to decarbonize the electrical grid in the coming decade.