X-energy selects Oak Ridge’s Horizon Center for new TF3 facility
More good news for the region and its advanced energy sector.
TRISO-X LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-energy LLC, announced yesterday that it has selected the Horizon Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge as the site for its commercial advanced nuclear reactor fuel fabrication facility. Described as the nation’s first High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) based fuel fabrication facility, the TRISO-X Fuel Fabrication Facility (TF3) is being commissioned through funding, in part, from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
Scheduled for commissioning and start-up as early as 2025, the TF3 is projected to generate more than 400 jobs in the Oak Ridge area and attract an investment of nearly $300 million, building off investments to date of more than $75 million.
This announcement follows several over the past few months, all building on the region’s R&D assets and the presence of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) announced in January that it had licensed a novel method to 3D print components for nuclear reactors and would locate its new Pilot Fuel Manufacturing facility at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge.
- General Fusion, a Vancouver, Canada-based company that is focused on transforming the world’s energy supply with clean, safe and abundant fusion energy, announced in November that its new U.S. base of operations will be in Oak Ridge.
- Kairos Power announced in July that it would invest $100 million and create 55 jobs as part of a major effort to deploy a low-power demonstration reactor. The investment will also be in ETTP.
Click here to learn more about yesterday’s announcement where TRISO-X LLC specifically noted that the “Oak Ridge Horizon Center is located in the heart of Tennessee’s Technology Corridor. As a key community partner, the TF3 will capitalize on its close access to the center’s several hubs of science and technology to meet the growing domestic and global demand for TRISO-based fuel.”
