US chemicals company Dow and advanced nuclear reactor and fuel developer X-energy have chosen Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site in Texas for their proposed Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor nuclear project.
The project is focused on providing the Seadrift site with power and steam as existing power generation is retired.
Seadrift, on the Gulf of Mexico coast and about 150 miles (240 km) from Houston, is the second largest Dow facility in Texas, spanning about 4,700 acres (1,900 hectares) and employing more than 1,200 people.
Dow and X-energy said they will now prepare and submit a construction permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Construction on the four-reactor project is expected to begin in 2026 and to be completed by the end of this decade.