New grant to fund continued construction of TRISO-X fuel facilities

X-energy subsidiary TRISO-X has received an economic development grant valued at $11 million from Tennessee's Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Investment Fund, which was established in 2023 to "support nuclear energy business investment, workforce development programs, and site development across Tennessee." The grant will be used for the ongoing construction of TRISO-X's fuel fabrication campus at the Horizon Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Fueling Xe-100: TRISO-X plans to have three facilities at the Oak Ridge campus-known as TX-1, TX-2, and TX-L-to develop commercial-scale manufacturing and research capabilities for its proprietary tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel. TRISO fabricated with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) can be used with advanced nuclear reactors, including TRISO-X's Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled small modular reactor.

In February, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted TRISO-X a 40-year special nuclear material license that allows the company to receive, possess, process, and transport HALEU material throughout the full fuel manufacturing cycle. The license authorizes the company to operate as a commercial fuel supplier. However, the NRC must conduct final inspections of the TRISO-X fuel manufacturing facilities before the company actually receives any HALEU.

The facilities: The Oak Ridge campus TRISO-X is building will contain the first new commercial nuclear fuel fabrication plants licensed in the United States in more than 50 years. TX-1, construction of which began last November, is slated to be the first commercial TRISO fuel fabrication facility in the United States. It will demonstrate TRISO-X's manufacturing process and provide operational experience for the subsequent facilities.

TX-2 will be a larger fuel fabrication facility designed to expand manufacturing capacity and incorporate enhanced automation and production efficiency. TX-L will be a dedicated fuel fabrication and laboratory facility. Research and development activities there will focus on fuel innovation, testing, and manufacturing improvements.

According to TRISO-X, the three facilities will produce enough fuel to supply approximately 55 Xe-100 SMRs, representing about 4.5 GW of nuclear energy.

Quotable: TRISO-X described the new grant from Tennessee as "an important milestone in TRISO-X's efforts to advance U.S. energy security through America's first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel campus." TRISO-X President Joel Duling said, "This is an important step in building a world-class nuclear fuel campus capable of powering next-generation nuclear. Oak Ridge stands as a cornerstone of nuclear innovation, and we are proud to carry its legacy forward with the continued support of the State of Tennessee."