AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from MIT Technology Review, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

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X-energy is developing small modular reactors designed to provide high-temperature heat for industrial manufacturing. Traditional nuclear reactors cannot reach the necessary temperatures because their water-based cooling systems require pressure that limits operating heat. In contrast, X-energy’s proposed Xe-100 reactor uses helium gas as a coolant, allowing it to operate at much higher temperatures and lower pressures. This helium heats water to create super-heated steam, which can generate 80 megawatts of electricity or provide direct industrial heat.

The Xe-100 will use TRISO fuel, compact uranium-based pebbles that are resistant to corrosion and melting. The company states the reactor is intrinsically safe; if power is lost and temperatures rise, the nuclear reaction naturally slows and stops. Industrial heating currently accounts for 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, with high-temperature processes being difficult to electrify. X-energy aims to reduce these carbon footprints by co-locating reactors at manufacturing sites or using them for oil recovery and refining.

Regulatory progress includes a fuel fabrication license for TRISO-X pebbles issued to X-energy’s subsidiary, with the first factory expected in 2028. A project to supply heat and power for a chemical facility in Texas has cleared its first hurdle and could operate by the early 2030s. Other projects include a 320 MW cluster in Richland, Washington, collaborating with Amazon, and a larger fleet planned for the UK’s northeast. Both target electricity generation in the 2030s.