# TRISO-X TX-1 fuel plant by X-energy

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/energy/tx-1-fuel-facility
Frontier: [Energy](https://technooptimist.io/energy.md) · Field: Nuclear fuel · Company: [X-energy](https://technooptimist.io/companies/x-energy.md)
Stage: Pilot (3 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-02-13, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Make the pebble fuel X-energy's Xe-100 reactors run on, starting with Dow's Long Mott plant. Without its own licensed HALEU fuel factory, X-energy's reactor order book would have no fuel.
Status: Shell complete (Sept 2026); interior and fuel equipment going in; 40-year NRC licence held.
Next milestone: Interior build-out and fuel equipment installation

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Licence application filed with the NRC | 6 Apr 2022 |   |
| Done | Groundbreaking in Oak Ridge (then called TF3) | 13 Oct 2022 |   |
| Done | Vertical construction begins | 17 Nov 2025 |   |
| Done | NRC issues 40-year HALEU fuel licence | 13 Feb 2026 |   |
| Done | Building shell complete | 24 Sep 2026 | +3 mo (originally Jun 2026) |
| Current | Interior build-out and fuel equipment installation |   |   |
| Planned | NRC readiness inspection, then fuel production | 2027 | +24 mo (originally 2025) |

## Upcoming events

- **2027**: NRC readiness inspection, then fuel production (slipped 24 mo)

## Most important updates

- **13 Feb 2026**: NRC grants TRISO-X the first licence to make HALEU fuel at a Category II plant. The NRC issued TRISO-X a 40-year special nuclear material licence covering HALEU fuel manufacturing at TX-1 and the planned TX-2, the first new NRC-licensed fuel facilities in over 50 years. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/nrc-grants-triso-x-the-first-licence-to-make-haleu-fuel-at-a-category-10f8df65.md) · [original source](https://x-energy.com/news/triso-x-receives-first-ever-part-70-haleu-fuel-fabrication-license/))
- **17 Nov 2025**: X-energy starts vertical construction of TX-1, its TRISO fuel plant in Oak Ridge. TRISO-X began building the structure of TX-1, a 214,812 sq ft plant to make 5 tonnes of uranium a year into about 700,000 TRISO pebbles, enough for up to 11 Xe-100 reactors. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/x-energy-starts-vertical-construction-of-tx-1-its-triso-fuel-plant-in-38c28448.md) · [original source](https://x-energy.com/news/x-energy-begins-vertical-construction-for-first-in-the-nation-advanced-nuclear-fuel-fabrication-facility/))

## Current obstacles

- **Schedule slips**: Planned to run by 2025 when ground broke in 2022; the shell finished in Sept 2026, three months later than the mid-2026 target.
- **HALEU supply**: The plant needs about 15.5% enriched uranium that only Centrus makes in the US today, and in small amounts.

## Physics limits

- **Little uranium per pebble**: Most of a pebble is graphite and ceramic coating, so the fuel needs richer HALEU to pack enough fissile uranium into the core.
- **Quality sets the pace**: Every particle needs intact coatings; defects let fission products out, so coating and inspection set how fast output can grow.

## How it works

### TRISO particle: Each grain carries its own containment

A poppy-seed-sized uranium kernel is sealed in layers of carbon and silicon carbide ceramic that keep fission products inside.

### Pebble: Thousands of particles in a ball

Particles are mixed into graphite and pressed into billiard-ball-sized pebbles that flow slowly through the Xe-100 core.

### Category II: First US plant licensed for it

HALEU up to 20% U-235 needs stricter security; TX-1 is the first US fuel plant licensed at this NRC category.

### Supply chain: Graphite and HALEU in, pebbles out

HALEU comes from Centrus under an Aug 2026 deal; a graphite matrix powder building is part of the site.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | TRISO-X TX-1 fuel plant | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Uranium capacity | 5 tonnes of uranium/year | reported |
| Pebbles per year | About 700,000 | reported |
| Reactors supplied | Up to 11 Xe-100s | reported |
| Facility size | 214,812 sq ft | reported |
| NRC licence term | 40 years | reported |
| Core-and-shell contract | $48.2 million (Clark Construction) | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About X-energy

Maryland company developing the Xe-100, an 80 MWe gas-cooled pebble-bed reactor, and making its own TRISO-X fuel. Backed by Amazon and Dow, it went public on Nasdaq in April 2026 in the largest nuclear IPO on record.

- A four-unit Xe-100 plant at Dow's Seadrift, Texas site is under NRC review; permit decision targeted late 2026.
- Amazon invested in 2024 and plans Xe-100s totalling 5 GW by 2039.
- Its April 2026 Nasdaq IPO raised about $1B.

- Founded: 2009
- Headquarters: US
- Status: public
- Listing: XE (NASDAQ)
- Valuation: $6.1B (market cap, 2026-09)
- Staff: ~889
- Website: https://x-energy.com
- People: Clay Sell (CEO)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/x-energy.md

## Related programs

More from X-energy:

- [Xe-100 at Long Mott (Dow Seadrift)](https://technooptimist.io/energy/xe-100-long-mott.md) (Pilot)
- [Cascade Advanced Energy Facility (Energy Northwest)](https://technooptimist.io/energy/cascade-advanced-energy-facility.md) (Research)

Everything in Energy: https://technooptimist.io/energy.md

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