X-energy Reactor Company LLC, Amazon, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corporation and Doosan Enerbility on Aug. 25 announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of Xe-100 fourth generation advanced small modular reactors and TRISO-X fuel in the U.S. to meet growing power demands from data centers and artificial intelligence.
“This partnership combines the world’s leading innovators in nuclear technology, energy project delivery, and cloud infrastructure to collaborate on the development and cost-effective deployment of X-energy’s advanced fourth generation reactor, delivering on the Trump administration’s goal to deploy advanced nuclear reactor technologies,” a news release said.
The agreement outlines collaboration across reactor engineering design, supply chain development, construction planning, investment strategies, long-term operations, and global opportunities for joint AI-nuclear deployment.
Aligned with the recent $350 billion trade deal between the United States and the Republic of Korea, the companies also aim to mobilize up to $50 billion in public and private investment to support the future of nuclear energy in the U.S.
“This partnership brings together proven nuclear leadership and experience from Korean industry and X-energy’s advanced reactor and fuel technology to meet a historic energy challenge,” said X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell. “By combining our expertise, we are ensuring that we are best positioned to accelerate the Xe-100 SMR into the marketplace with the unique knowledge and skills developed throughout the South Korea industrial supply chain. Collaboration between the United States and South Korea in this critical sector is vital to preserving American leadership in the AI race and surpassing China as the leader in nuclear development.”
Global competition for SMR development "is becoming increasingly fierce," said KHNP president and CEO Dr. Joo-ho Whang. "By strengthening cooperation with the United States, I expect that the technological and business capabilities of both countries will generate strong synergies in the global SMR market. This partnership positions us to meet the needs of a 21st century economy with the safest, most secure, and most proliferation-resistant fuel and reactor technology today.”
Data centers "are the critical infrastructure needed to support AI leadership, and their power needs continue to accelerate to meet the growing needs of our customers,” stated Amazon Web Services Head of Worldwide Energy Vibhu Kaushik. “By forming this partnership with KHNP and Doosan along with X-energy, we’re continuing to pursue innovative carbon-free solutions and technology to help meet the increasing energy demand, and we’re excited that this will help us enable over five gigawatts of new nuclear energy in the U.S.”
The agreement builds on X-energy’s existing relationships with strategic Korean partners, including DL E&C, a leading engineering and construction services company with whom X-energy has partnered since 2023.
X-energy and Amazon are seeking to build a world-leading ecosystem of partners that will support delivery of X-energy reactors to its customers. In line with this, Doosan has agreed to secure the manufacturing capabilities required for the successful deployment of Xe-100 modules.
X-energy is advancing its initial Xe-100 deployment with Dow Inc. at its UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Demonstration Program established under the first Trump administration.
In May 2025, the proposed four-reactor project reached a critical milestone with its Construction Permit Application accepted for an 18-month review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
X-energy is also advancing its second Xe-100 deployment with Energy Northwest in Washington state in collaboration with Amazon.
The Energy Northwest site is expected to initially host four Xe-100 reactors with plans to expand to 12.
