Dow and X-Energy Reactor Company LLC on March 31 announced the submission of a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas.
Dow’s proposed advanced small modular reactor project is being developed by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Long Mott Energy LLC.
The project is focused on providing Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site “with safe, reliable, and clean power and industrial steam replacing existing energy and steam assets that are near end-of-life,” the companies said.
The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which is designed to accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors through cost-shared partnerships with U.S. industry.
Since 2018, X-energy, and subsequently Dow, have worked with the NRC through extensive pre-application engagements to demonstrate the unparalleled safety profile of the Xe-100 advanced SMR through its advanced fuel design, passive safety features, and state-of-the-art analysis techniques.
This has culminated in a comprehensive application submittal that exceeds NRC regulations for the protection of public health and safety, as well as the environment, with substantial safety features.
Approval of the construction permit is an important step forward that could take up to 30 months. Once the permit is received and upon Dow confirming the ability to deliver the project while achieving its financial return targets, construction could begin. Dow expects the cost of energy ‐ net of all subsidies ‐ to be competitive with other alternatives for firm, clean energy.
The proposed project could begin construction later this decade and start up early next decade. The nuclear power and steam assets would eliminate most Scope 1 and 2 emissions at the site and ensure the site remains competitively advantaged for the life of the facility, the companies said.
X-energy was selected by the DOE in 2020 to develop, license, and build an operational Xe-100 advanced SMR and TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility. Since that award, X-energy has completed the engineering and preliminary design of the nuclear reactor, has begun development and licensing of a fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and has secured approximately $1.1 billion in private capital to commercialize its technology. Once complete, Long Mott Generating Station is expected to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.
Dow’s Seadrift site covers 4,700 acres and manufactures more than 4 billion pounds of materials per year used across a wide variety of applications including food packaging and preservation, footwear, wire and cable insulation, solar cell membranes, and packaging for medical and pharmaceutical products.
