Tech · MIT Technology Review
X-energy’s proposed Xe-100 reactor will apply helium gas as a coolant instead
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The helium will heat water and create super-heated steam, which industry can use either directly or to generate 80 megawatts (MW) of electricity via a turbine, or a combination of the two.
Key facts
- In tandem, X-energy is working toward a 320 MW cluster of four Xe-100 reactors in Richland, Washington, in collaboration with Amazon, and a larger 6 GW fleet in the UK’s northeast
- The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued X-energy’s subsidiary with a fuel fabrication license for TRISO-X pebbles, with its first factory due for completion in 2028
- AI and data centers now represent the single largest component of new demand for electricity in the US, and their consumption is expected to double again by 2030
- X-energy’s proposed Xe-100 reactor will use helium gas as a coolant instead, allowing it to operate at much lower pressures and higher temperatures
Summary
X-energy is developing small modular reactors to satisfy some of the planet’s most power-hungry users: industrial manufacturers that need high temperatures to produce billions of tons of concrete, plastics, fibers, and chemicals. Solar panels and wind turbines are great at producing electricity but what heavy industry also needs is raw heat—and lots of it. X-energy’s proposed Xe-100 reactor will use helium gas as a coolant instead, allowing it to operate at much lower pressures and higher temperatures. In common with other small modular reactors (SMRs), the Xe-100 will use a modern uranium-based fuel called TRISO (short for tristructural-isotropic) that is extremely resistant to corrosion and melting. Notable fact: The first helium-cooled reactor was proposed for the World War II Manhattan Project but was passed over in favor of a simpler and cheaper water-cooled design.