X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC (“X-energy” or the “Company”), a leading developer of advanced modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation, and Kinectrics, a leading global provider of engineering, testing, and certification services, announced a partnership to design, construct, and operate one of the first commercial-scale Helium Test Facilities (“HTF”) in North America. This facility will test and verify performance of critical structures, systems, and components of X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor in helium-based high-temperature and high-pressure environments.
“The Helium Test Facility is an integral part of testing our systems and components in expected operating conditions and verifying their safety, operability, and reliability,” said X-energy CEO, J. Clay Sell. “In addition to helping our advanced nuclear technology enter the marketplace, this facility will bring together nuclear operators, researchers, and engineers to drive additional potential optimizations of our reactors. As a global leader in nuclear component testing, characterization, and certification, Kinectrics is expected to play a pivotal role in the success of X-energy’s products.”
The Xe-100 will use circulating helium gas to transfer heat from the reactor core through a heat exchanger to generate high-temperature steam that can be used to generate electricity or supply heat for industrial processes. The HTF will test Xe-100 components and instruments under operating conditions and without the presence of any nuclear materials. The tests will enable design verification and give Kinectrics and X-energy performance data on key reactor systems, including the Reactivity Control & Shutdown System, Helium Purification System, Helium Circulator System, and Fuel Handling System.
X-energy and Kinectrics expect to announce the HTF site this summer and complete its detailed design in 2023, with the goal of having an operational facility in 2025. Working alongside Kinectrics’s team of life cycle management experts, X-energy engineers expect to refine Xe-100 start-up and commissioning procedures using data collected from HTF testing and to gain critical operating experience to inform future reactor maintenance, operations, and staff training.
“The Helium Test Facility is expected to provide the critical infrastructure and comprehensive testing required to support timely commercialization of the Xe-100,” said Kinectrics CEO, David Harris. “This project is part of a long-term partnership between X-energy and Kinectrics. We expect the Xe-100 will produce electricity and high temperature process steam in a safe and reliable manner, which enables our clean energy future.”
Testing and design validation at the HTF will support X-energy’s recently announced plans to install its first Xe-100 reactors at one of Dow’s U.S. Gulf Coast sites as part of the Company’s participation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The program provides $1.2 billion in cost-shared federal funding for the delivery and demonstration of a first-of-a-kind commercial advanced nuclear plant and TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility.
As previously announced on December 6, 2022, X-energy entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Ares Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: AAC) (“AAC”), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023, the combined company will be named X-Energy, Inc. and its common equity securities and warrants are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by AAC’s shareholders, the Registration Statement being declared effective by the SEC, and other customary closing conditions.
