X-energy, Talen to assess deployment of multiple SMR plants

The companies will explore opportunities to deploy three or more four-unit XE-100 plants "to add clean baseload capacity to help support reliability and meet growing energy demand from onshoring of manufacturing, data centres, and electrification" in the PJM Interconnection market. PJM is the regional transmission organisation that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Under the agreement, X-energy and Talen plan to conduct early-stage project development activities, including feasibility studies, site evaluations, and a project execution framework. While specific siting parameters have yet to be finalised, the companies intend to assess opportunities to transition fossil-fired generation to nuclear power through X-energy SMRs, leveraging established infrastructure, transmission connectivity, and workforce resources.

Independent power producer Talen Energy Corporation owns and operates about 13.1 GW of power infrastructure in the USA, including 2.2 GW of nuclear power and a significant dispatchable fossil fleet.

The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design which X-energy says is based on decades of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor operation, research, and development. It is designed to operate as a standard 320 MWe four-pack power plant or scaled in units of 80 MWe. X-energy says the reactor is "strongly aligned to meet the Mid-Atlantic region's growing energy needs, with unique characteristics well-suited to regional grids, hyperscale data centres, and other large commercial off-takers". At 200 MWt of 565°C steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications, including mining and heavy industry. The Xe-100 uses tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel, which has additional safety benefits because it can withstand very high temperatures without melting.

"Our agreement with Talen is an important step forward to strengthen baseload capacity and meet growing energy demands in the PJM market," said X-energy Chief Commercial Officer Dinkar Bhatia. "Our small modular reactor technology is uniquely suited to meet these demand opportunities reliably and safely, with the scalability and flexibility to deploy across a range of project sites."

X-energy says it is currently developing more than 11 GW of new nuclear capacity across commercial partnerships in the USA and the UK. In Texas, X-energy and Dow are advancing a proposed four-unit plant under the US Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. This is expected to be followed by Energy Northwest's Cascade Advanced Energy Facility - the first of several projects to deploy at least 5 GW with Amazon by 2039 - and a 6 GW commitment from Centrica for the UK's first advanced reactor fleet.

Talen President Terry Nutt added: "Talen believes that future power demand needs an all-of-the-above supply approach, and this includes new nuclear technology. Commercial nuclear energy is a proven carbon-free energy source that provides for energy independence and diversification. We look forward to working with X-energy as part of our broader commitment to Powering the Future."

In June last year, Talen entered into a new agreement for the long-term supply of 1,920 MWe of electricity from its Susquehanna nuclear power plant to support Amazon Web Services' data centres. At the time, Talen said that together with Amazon it would also explore building new SMRs "within Talen's Pennsylvania footprint" and "pursue expanding the nuclear plant's energy output through uprates, with the intent to add net-new energy to the PJM grid."