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X-energy Commences First Irradiation Tests of Advanced TRISO-X Nuclear Fuel at Idaho National Laboratory

LCG, November 6, 2025--X-energy Reactor Company, LLC, (X-energy) and the U.S. Office of Nuclear Energy today announced the start of confirmatory irradiation testing at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to qualify X-energy’s proprietary TRISO-X fuel pebbles for commercial use in the Xe-100 Small Modular Reactor (SMR). (TRISO stands for TRi-structural ISOtropic). This is the first time that TRISO-X fuel pebbles will undergo irradiation testing in a U.S. lab, which is a critical step in meeting requirements set forth by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the commercial deployment of advanced reactors that will use the fuel.

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NextEra Energy and Google Collaborate on Accelerating Nuclear Power Deployment

LCG, October 28, 2025--NextEra Energy and Google yesterday announced two agreements that will help meet growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) with clean, reliable, 24/7 nuclear power and strengthen the nation's nuclear leadership. First, Google signed a new, 25-year agreement for power generated at the Duane Arnold Energy Center, Iowa's only nuclear power facility. The 601-MW boiling water reactor unit was shut down in 2020 and is expected to commence operations by the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals to restart the plant.

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Industry News

Growing Competition for New Nuclear Reactor Designs

LCG, September 16, 2005--Constellation Energy and AREVA Inc. announced yesterday that they formed a joint venture, UniStar Nuclear, to develop and sell new nuclear power plants in the United States. The plants will be based upon AREVA's 1,600-MW European pressurized water reactor (EPR) that is currently being deployed in Europe. Bechtel Power Corporation will support the venture with its expertise as an architect-engineer and constructor.

Unistar Nuclear will provide the platform to develop joint ventures, and AREVA will be the prime contractor, providing the nuclear reactor and all support systems, instrumentation and control system and initial load of nuclear fuel. Constellation Energy, through new joint ventures, would license, construct, own and operate the new nuclear power plants based upon AREVA's EPR design.

The EPR design is used in one reactor currently under construction in Finland and is used in another reactor to be built in France. The companies stated that over 200 engineers are now working in support of obtaining a design certification for the U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (US EPR) as a standard plant from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The companies expect that new plants will be ready to begin production in 2015.

The announcement of the new venture adds to the growing competition associated with the development of new nuclear reactors. On August 31, GE Energy submitted its Design Certification application to the NRC for its economic simplified boiling water reactor (ESBWR). GE anticipates the Final Design Approval toward the end of 2006 and that it will receive Design Certification immediately thereafter. The ESBWR is a 1,500-MW design that incorporates passive safety features that rely upon natural forces, such as gravity, in order to reduce reliance on active, mechanical systems, like pumps and valves.

Another primary reactor design for consideration in the United States is offered by Westinghouse Electric. A year ago, the NRC granted a Final Design Approval to Westinghouse for its AP1000 advanced reactor design.

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