A new nuclear age for the US? X-energy reveals more on its 214,000-square-foot Tennessee plant with 5-metric-ton uranium capacity

X-energy has completed the main structure of its Tennessee fuel plant called TX-1 The facility could eventually produce 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually TX-1 will be America's first new commercial-scale advanced fuel facility in decades X-energy has completed the main structure of TX-1, a nuclear

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>X-energy has completed the main structure of its Tennessee fuel plant called TX-1</strong></li><li><strong>The facility could eventually produce 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually</strong></li><li><strong>TX-1 will be America's first new commercial-scale advanced fuel facility in decades</strong></li></ul><p>X-energy has completed the main structure of TX-1, a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.</p><p>The 214,000-square-foot plant, developed by subsidiary TRISO-X, represents the first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel facility built domestically in over 50 years.</p><p>Clark Construction Group, the contractor handling the project, oversaw this vertical construction phase, clearing the path toward interior systems and eventual equipment installation.</p><h2 id="manufacturing-capacity-built-for-a-growing-fleet-of-reactors">Manufacturing capacity built for a growing fleet of reactors</h2><p>TRISO fuel consists of tiny uranium particles wrapped in multiple carbon- and ceramic-based protective layers for durability.</p><p>Those layered coatings contain fission products while letting the fuel withstand temperatures far higher than conventional nuclear fuel typically tolerates.</p><p>The TX-1 plant is expected to produce roughly 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually when it commences full operations, consuming about 5 metric tons of uranium, which would supply enough fuel for as many as 11 of X-energy's Xe-100 advanced reactor units combined.</p><p>Each Xe-100 reactor module produces 80 megawatts of electricity, with four combined modules forming one standard 320-megawatt plant.</p><p>TX-1 will initially supply fuel for X-energy's planned Xe-100 deployment at Dow's UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site in Texas.</p><p>"Completing vertical construction is a major milestone for TX-1 and another tangible demonstration of the progress our team is making in Oak Ridge," said Joel Duling, president of TRISO-X.</p><p>Clark Construction Group will now shift focus toward process equipment, an administration building, and an adjacent graphite matrix powder facility.</p><p>Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the plant a 40-year Special Nuclear Material License for operations ahead.</p><p>X-energy says this represents the first NRC Category 2 fuel fabrication license issued for processing high-assay low-enriched uranium, known as HALEU.</p><h2 id="expanding-beyond-one-site-as-demand-for-advanced-fuel-grows">Expanding beyond one site as demand for advanced fuel grows</h2><p>TRISO-X has separately expanded its broader Oak Ridge nuclear fuel campus by approximately 70 additional acres of land.</p><p>The company also extended its existing research partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory while beginning construction on a separate facility.</p><p>That new facility, called TX-L, will function as a dedicated research and development site going forward.</p><p>Beyond the Dow project, X-energy is pursuing additional Xe-100 deployments with Energy Northwest, Amazon, and Centrica as future customers.</p><p>Each new reactor project would add further demand for the specialized fuel TX-1 is being built to eventually produce.</p><p>Finishing the building's main structure does not mean fuel manufacturing can begin immediately at this location.</p><p>X-energy must still install specialized production equipment, commission interior systems, and prepare the facility for full commercial operations ahead.</p><p>No completion date has been disclosed for TX-1, but when completed, it would give the United States its first new domestic source of advanced reactor fuel in decades.</p><p>That outcome would also reduce reliance on foreign uranium suppliers while supporting new clean energy projects already planned with Amazon, Energy Northwest, and Centrica. </p><p>Via <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/energy/x-energy-tx1-triso-nuclear-fuel-facility" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Interesting Engineering</a></p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:676px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:31.51%;"><img id="diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78" name="tr-g_news" alt="Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="676" height="213" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div></figure> </article> ]]>