Generation IV Xe-100 station could begin operation at Seadrift chemical site ‘early next decade’
US chemicals company Dow and advanced nuclear reactor and fuel developer X-energy have submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, Texas, that could become the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.
Dow’s proposed advanced small modular reactor (SMR) project is being developed by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Long Mott Energy.
The project – potentially to consist of four X-energy Xe-100 SMR units – is focused on providing Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site with reliable and clean power and industrial steam, replacing existing energy and steam assets that are near the end of their operational lifetimes.
The Xe-100 is a Generation IV high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, interest in HTGRs is increasing because they can provide efficient and cost-effective electricity and produce high-temperature process heat usable for various industrial applications.
Since 2018, X-energy, and subsequently Dow, have worked with the NRC through extensive pre-application engagements to demonstrate the safety profile of the Xe-100.
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”, X-energy said.
Approval of the construction permit could take up to 30 months. Once the permit is received and once Dow confirms the ability to deliver the project while achieving its financial return targets, construction could begin.
The proposed project could begin construction later this decade and start up early next decade, X-energy said. Dow, based in Midland, Michigan, said in 2022 when it first announced the plans that the plant is expected to be operational by 2030, although this now seems unlikely.
The nuclear power and steam assets would eliminate most Scope 1 and 2* emissions at Seadrift and ensure the site remains competitive for the life of the facility.
In 2020 X-energy was selected by the DOE to develop, licence and build an operational Xe-100 advanced SMR and Triso-X fuel fabrication facility. Triso-X is X-energy’s proprietary version of advanced tristructural isotropic (Triso) fuel that will power the Xe-100 plant.
According to the DOE, Triso is a highly robust nuclear fuel, designed with a uranium-bearing kernel coated in ceramic layers, making it resistant to extreme temperatures and pressure, and preventing the release of fission products,
Station Could Be First Of Kind In North America
X-energy has completed the engineering and preliminary design of the Xe-100, has begun development and licensing of a Triso-X fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and has secured approximately $1.1bn (€1.02bn) in private capital to commercialise its technology.
Once complete, the Long Mott nuclear generating station at Seadrift is expected to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.
Seadrift, on the Gulf of Mexico coast and about 150 miles (240 km) from Houston, is the second largest Dow facility in Texas, spanning about 4,700 acres (1,900 hectares) and employing more than 1,200 people.
The Seadrift site began operations in 1954 as a Union Carbide Corporate (UCC) facility and became part of The Dow Chemical Company in February, 2001 through the acquisition of UCC.
Products manufactured at the site include plastics for wire and cable applications, containers, vehicle components and toys; glycols for antifreeze, polyester fabrics and bottles; and oxide derivatives for health and beauty products such as medicines, shampoos, soaps, detergents, window cleaners, brake fluids and paint.
* According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which provides standards and tools that help countries and cities track progress towards climate goals, Scope 1 emissions are emissions that originate directly from a company's operations and activities. Scope 2 emissions are emissions that occur during the production of energy – electricity, steam, heat or cooling – that a company buys from external sources, but not at the company's own facilities. Scope 2 emissions include emissions from the power plant that generates the electricity a company uses and emissions from a utility company that provides steam or heat.
