X-energy and U.S. Department of the Air Force to Advance Microreactor

X-energy Reactor Company has signed an agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Department of the Air Force to advance the development of its commercial microreactor ahead of its deployment at Department of Defense installations to support U.S. national security.

The company said the agreement supports continued design and development for the X-energy XENITH microreactor under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) program, an initiative led by DIU in partnership with the Department of the Air Force. The program is designed to accelerate the deployment of next-generation microreactor technologies to provide resilient, secure power at military installations, and enables governmental sponsors like the Department of the Air Force to engage with X-energy under a flexible contracting mechanism. X-energy was among eight potential microreactor suppliers selected by DOD in April this year as eligible to seek funding as part of the ANPI program.

X-energy’s XENITH is a 3-10 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor first developed for DOD’s Project Pele, a mobile microreactor initiative. The design was selected to continue into an enhanced engineering phase, focused on achieving preliminary design maturity and initiating pre-licensing engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for both military and commercial applications.

In addition to XENITH, X-energy is advancing the deployment of its Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor for utilities, industrial customers, and hyperscalers.