Small Modular Reactors
We Have Seen This Movie Before....
The financial media will have us all believe that SMRs are a new concept. Not true. Small modular reactors have been well studied and in fact built and used already. We have seen this movie before.
One design of SMR is the HTGR (Hi Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor). The first gas-cooled reactor was built in 1943 at Oak Ridge, TN. It was a 3.5 MW (Megawatt) air-cooled unit (air is a “gas” after all…).
In 1951, France built a 2 MW unit that used pressurized Nitrogen as a coolant gas.
In 1959, the U.K. started designing the Dragon Reactor. This was a 20 MW unit, cooled by pressurized Helium and fueled by graphite-coated (TRISO) spherical fuel balls. This unit started operating in 1965 and continued through to 1976.
The U.S. government next got involved when it designed and built the experimental 40 MW, helium-cooled Peach Bottom HTGR unit in collaboration with the Philadelphia Electric Company. This unit operated from 1966 through 1974. One of the key observations from this project was that carbon-coated fuel particles operated with no fuel failures for 897 equivalent full power days.
Next up was the 330 MW Fort St. Vrain project located in Platteville, Colorado. It was operated by the Public Service Company of Colorado from 1976 to 1989. There were some technical issues with the helium cooling method. However, these issues were resolved and this project really set the stage for the future use of SMR’s in the U.S. Critics of nuclear are quick to seize on the helium cooling challenges of this project and these critics will have you believing that a nuclear Armageddon awaits us all if we pursue SMRs.
From a nuclear safety perspective, modern HTGRs with Tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) coated fuel particles, a graphite moderator, and helium-gas coolant are safe. In the event of an accident, TRISO fuel will not rise steeply in temperature. This means the reactor core temperature will remain below the maximum acceptable critical temperatures for over a week after an accident.
Small Modular Reactors have the potential to be about more than just power generation. SMRs pose an opportunity to help decarbonize the industrial sector which relies on burning fossil fuels to generate heat for various processes. Think about any industrial process that needs steam heat to cook or melt process materials. Now envision that same industrial plant with its own SMR generating the steam heat. No fossil fuels. No greenhouse gas emissions.
One company that is advancing a HTGR design is X-Energy (N: XE). It is building four of its XE-100 prototype units right now in Texas. Each reactor module will be capable of producing 80 MW of power. The Company will be making its TRISO fuel at its facility in Oak Ride, TN.
Up until recently, X Energy was a private concern, funded by Amazon along with some deep-pocketed investment funds. By my reckoning, the private entity had 207 million shares, the sale of which had brought in $1.8 billion from private investors. This means the private investors paid around $8.75 per share.
On April 24, 2026 X Energy made its IPO debut and floated about 49 million more shares into the market to raise gross proceeds of over $1 billion. This capital should be sufficient to see its XE-100 project through to completion.
When the private shareholders ultimately feed their shares into the public market, they stand to have a nice payday, even at current share prices.
As far as recent developments are concerned, consider:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed XE-100 reactor design.
The XE-100 design has been submitted to UK authorities for approvals.
The Company has signed a deal with Japanese engineering firm IHI in which the companies will collaborate to assess manufacturing opportunities for critical components needed for X-energy’s reactors.
The Company has received a Special Nuclear Material License from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This approval will allow the Company to commercially manufacture fuel using high-assay low-enriched uranium (“HALEU”) under an initial 40-year license at Oak Ridge, TN.
The timeline for X Energy to commercially begin selling its reactors is still about 2-3 years away. A lot can happen in this timeframe, so no need to rush head over heels into the stock just yet. Better to take a short term mentality and aim to trade in and out.
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