Investment in 4th Generation SMR for Data Center Operation
Business Opportunities Expected for Doosan Enerbility, etc.,
The 4th generation HTGR SMR ‘Xe-100’ being developed by X-Energy. Photo: X-Energy website,
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, The world’s largest e-commerce company Amazon announced on the 16th (local time) that it has signed an equity investment agreement with the US SMR (Small Modular Reactor) company X-Energy. X-Energy is a company where Doosan Enerbility and DL E&C from Korea have invested and cooperated. It is leading the development and design of SMR, recognized as a next-generation energy source.,
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, ‘Led by Amazon, the Citadel Fund and other US institutions will invest about $500 million (approximately 680 billion KRW) in X-Energy. The event on that day was held at Amazon HQ2 located in Virginia, USA, attended by US government officials such as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Senators Tim Kaine, and Mark Warner, as well as Amazon and X-Energy representatives.’,
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, ‘Amazon decided on this equity investment to respond to the massive electricity demand necessary for operating data centers. It is also planning to actively pursue the introduction of X-Energy’s SMR in cooperation with US nuclear power operators Energy Northwest and Dominion Energy. Amazon plans to initially fund the development of X-Energy’s SMR (320MW) project at Energy Northwest, located in Washington state, with a potential expansion to 960MW in the future. Since July, Amazon has been exploring SMR development and financing options in collaboration with Dominion Energy, located in Virginia, which is considering SMR introduction.’,
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, “Amazon announced a goal to introduce more than 5GW of X-Energy SMR by 2039. This is the largest announced SMR introduction goal so far. Through this investment, Amazon will secure the electricity necessary for the construction and operation of data centers with continuously increasing demand. Due to Amazon’s investment, X-Energy, the leader of 4th generation HTGR SMR development, is expected to accelerate the development of the ‘Xe-100’ model. The Xe-100 is a 4th generation HTGR SMR, consisting of four 80MW reactors with a total generation capacity of 320MW. It uses next-generation nuclear fuel with enhanced safety the size of a tennis ball, and the high steam heat of 565 degrees produced during operation can be used as an energy source in various industries in addition to power generation.”,
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Perspective view of X-Energy Xe-100 plant,
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, ‘This investment is expected to give momentum to subsequent projects by X-Energy. The SMR projects of domestic companies like Doosan Enerbility and DL E&C that have invested in X-Energy are also expected to gain momentum. Doosan Enerbility, as a global SMR foundry, signed an agreement with X-Energy last January for equity investment and supply of key equipment. With Amazon’s large-scale investment, the opportunity for supplying X-Energy’s equipment becomes more visible, and business opportunities are expected to expand.’,
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, ‘In 2021, X-Energy was selected for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a next-generation reactor demonstration program led by the US Department of Energy, receiving an initial grant of $80 million (approximately 109.2 billion KRW). The US Department of Energy plans to support a total of $1.2 billion (approximately 1.638 trillion KRW) for the demonstration of X-Energy’s next-generation HTGR SMR. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 114GW of electricity is expected to be needed globally for data center operations by 2026, and the Idaho National Laboratory projects the nuclear capacity market could expand to at least 404GW by 2050. Leading the data center industry, big tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are announcing collaborations with nuclear companies that can reliably supply the massive carbon-free electricity needed for AI technology operations.’,
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, ‘A representative from Doosan Enerbility stated, “A large volume of SMR production for data center power supply is expected to be released soon. We are responding to future demands by developing advanced manufacturing technology and expanding facilities for large-scale SMR production.” ‘,
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