X-energy's fuel fabrication facility will be the first of its kind in the United States and will manufacture the company’s proprietary TRISO fuel for its commercial reactors.
November 17, 2025
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X-energy announced the start of vertical construction for its TX-1 fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The facility will be the first of its kind in the United States and will manufacture the company’s proprietary TRISO fuel for its commercial reactors.
Building Up
X-energy subsidiary TRISO-X recently selected Clark Construction Group for a $48.2 million award as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to complete vertical construction. ARDP funding provides up to 50% cost sharing with X-energy for their Xe-100 Advanced Reactor Demonstration Project, including construction of the TX-1 fuel fabrication facility.
The group will start building the shell of the 214,812 square foot facility that will be used to fabricate around 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles each year, which is enough fuel for 11 Xe-100 small modular reactors.
TX-1 will be the first of two facilities planned for the site to fabricate the company’s ceramic fuel designed to withstand extreme temperatures and retain fission products under all reactor conditions.
The facility is on track to be the first Category II fuel fabrication facility licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is expected to bring more than 400 new jobs to the region.
“The start of vertical construction marks another significant milestone in bringing our bold vision for the future of nuclear energy to life,” said Joel Duling, President of TRISO-X. “As TX-1 takes shape, it will stand as a symbol of our team’s relentless dedication and determination to bring this transformative project forward in just a few years, not decades.”
In addition to ARDP funding, the U.S. Department of Energy also awarded X-energy $9 million in 2018 to support the initial design of the company's fuel fabrication facility that later evolved into TX-1.
TRISO-X anticipates regulatory approval by May 2026 and recently received approval from the Department to spend an additional $30 million to secure long-lead procurement items to adhere to the overall project schedule.
Operations are projected to start the following year with the initial fuel production supporting X-energy’s first commercial reactor, a proposed four-unit plant in partnership with Dow Chemical Company at their chemical plant in Seadrift, Texas.
The project is one of two demonstration projects supported by the Department to accelerate the deployment of new reactor technologies.
The proposed Long Mott Generating Station at Seadrift would be the first advanced nuclear facility to power an industrial site in the United States.