X-energy completes main structure of Tennessee fuel plant

X-energy has completed the main structure of TX-1, a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The 214,000-square-foot plant is being developed by its subsidiary TRISO-X. X-energy describes it as the first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel facility built in the United States in more than 50 years.

Clark Construction Group oversaw the vertical construction phase. Work will now turn to process equipment, an administration building and an adjacent graphite matrix powder facility. Fuel production cannot begin until specialized equipment is installed and interior systems are commissioned. X-energy has not disclosed a completion date.

When fully operational, TX-1 is expected to produce about 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles a year using roughly 5 metric tons of uranium. X-energy says that output could supply as many as 11 of its Xe-100 reactor units. Each module produces 80 megawatts of electricity; four modules make a 320-megawatt plant. TX-1 is initially intended to supply fuel for planned Xe-100 deployment at Dow's UCC Seadrift Operations site in Texas.

Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the plant a 40-year Special Nuclear Material License. X-energy says it is the first NRC Category 2 fuel fabrication license issued for processing high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU. The company has also expanded its Oak Ridge campus by about 70 acres and started construction of TX-L, a separate research and development facility.