US company X-energy has received federal regulatory approval to build four Xe-100 small modular reactors at Dow's chemical plant in Texas. This is the first time the US has authorized the construction of a next-generation reactor directly at an industrial site. However, the plant is still a long way from starting up: it is not expected to begin operating until the early 2030s at the earliest, TechCrunch reports.

Four reactors for an industrial facility

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved X-energy's application for a permit to build four Xe-100 reactors. Each will be able to produce up to 80 MW of electricity and 200 MW of thermal energy.

Locating the reactors at Dow's plant will allow them to be used not only to generate electricity but also to supply heat to the facility. This is an important feature of the project: industrial facilities need substantial amounts of energy not only in the form of electricity but also for industrial processes.

X-energy describes the NRC's decision as the first construction permit for an advanced nuclear reactor at an industrial site in the US. However, approval of the construction application does not mean the reactors will begin operating soon. The company estimates that the installation will not be ready until the early 2030s.

Small reactors have yet to prove their advantages

The US nuclear industry has high hopes for small modular reactors, or SMRs. Their proponents argue that smaller installations and modular manufacturing will make it possible to build nuclear power plants faster and at a lower cost.

For now, however, these advantages remain more of a promise than a proven result. No small modular reactor is yet operating in the US, and building even relatively compact nuclear installations requires substantial investment and can take years.

X-energy uses its proprietary Xe-100 design, in which a flow of helium removes heat from uranium-containing fuel elements. The company claims this approach is safer than many conventional reactor designs.

Not everyone agrees, however. The Union of Concerned Scientists has questioned both the company's safety claims and the speed with which the regulator issued the permit.

Edwin Lyman, the organization's director of nuclear power safety, said the NRC was able to approve construction only because it deferred consideration of several fundamental safety issues. In his view, the regulator should have fully addressed them before issuing the permit.

The project's approval therefore marks an important milestone for X-energy, but it has not resolved questions about the reactor's design or the process used to evaluate it.

Betting on demand from technology companies

Major technology companies and data center operators have fueled interest in small reactors in recent years. They need increasing amounts of electricity and see nuclear power as one potential source of a reliable energy supply.

Amazon has become one of X-energy's biggest backers. Its investment fund, the Climate Pledge Fund, led a $500 million Series C-1 funding round in October 2024. Amazon also committed to purchasing up to 5 GW of generating capacity from the company.

In April 2026, X-energy capitalized on heightened interest in nuclear power and held an IPO, raising $1 billion. However, investors' initial enthusiasm gradually waned.

NRC approval does not solve the main problem: cost

Nuclear power plants remain extremely expensive projects with long development timelines. Even if small modular reactors eventually reduce costs and accelerate construction, the first installations are likely to be particularly costly.

X-energy expects to reduce both construction costs and timelines over time. But its first four reactors for Dow have yet to be built, and commercial operations will not begin until the next decade, according to the company's forecast.

The NRC's approval gave X-energy shares a boost: on the eve of the announcement, they recouped the previous week's losses. But that was only enough to reverse the recent decline. The company's shares are now trading at less than half their initial offering price.

For X-energy, the construction permit is an important step from technology development to practical deployment. But investors and potential customers have yet to see whether small reactors can truly deliver cheaper nuclear power with shorter construction times. The first commercial projects will show just how justified the industry's expectations were.