Maryland-based X-energy, which is developing the Xe-100 pebble bed High Temperature Gas-Cooled reactor (HTGR), said Friday that it had been awarded a $6 million grant for 2016 from the Department of Energy (DOE) with a potential of $50 million in total down the line, including additional investor funding from the company.
The funding “focuses on targeted technology development, including core modeling, fuel fabrication, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission outreach,” X-energy said in a statement.
Similar to Southern Company's parallel announcement, X-energy announced it had a pubic sector-private sector team lined up to conduct the research. X-energy said its team includes BWXT, Teledyne Brown Engineering, SGL Group, Oregon State University, Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
The grant positions the Xe-100 reactor among the most promising advanced reactors under development, said X-energy President Harlan Bowers. “We are thrilled that the DOE recognizes the Xe-100's advantages: A clean, affordable, secure design with electrical generation and industrial process steam capabilities,” Bowers said.
Southern Company's team, through subsidiary Southern Company Services, is developing a molten chloride fast reactor (MCFR).
Highlighted benefits to the Xe-100 design includes what could be industry-wide game changing factors: Factory-built components for a 50 MW reactor that is considered “walk-away safe,” says X-energy, referring to the reactor's ability to remain safe during loss of coolant conditions.