SMR Nuclear Microgrids: Dow and X-energy Seeking NRC Construction Approval for Industrial Power
Chemical products firm Dow is advancing by a significant, if slow and deliberate step, closer to eventually building a next-gen nuclear facility to power one of its petrochemical plants on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Dow and X-Energy Reactor Co. have submitted a construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The permit seeks approval for developing a small modular reactor (SMR) plant to someday power Dow’s Union Carbide Corp. plant at Seadrift, Texas, creating a nuclear-powered industrial microgrid, in effect.
Dow is working on the proposed advanced small modular reactor (SMR) project through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Long Mott Energy. The project may provide Dow's UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site–which produces plastics and other products—with electric power and industrial steam, replacing existing energy and steam assets that are near end-of-life.
"This is an important next step in expanding access to safe, clean, reliable, cost-competitive nuclear energy in the U.S.," said Edward Stones, business vice president, Energy & Climate, Dow, in a statement. "We look forward to engaging with the NRC, DOE (Energy Department), our business partners and the community throughout the application process."
Nuclear reactors produce baseload-level electricity without carbon emissions. Currently, utility-scale reactors generate close to 18% of total U.S. electricity output and more than half of the nation’s carbon-free power.
SMRs are a smaller, less expensive step in the evolution of reactors, although no commercial plants have yet been built and commercially operated in the U.S.
If built and commissioned, Long Mott Generating Station could be the first advanced, SMR reactor generating carbon-free power for an industrial site in North America. Dow selected X-energy earlier this decade to develop, license and build its Xe-100 advanced SMR and TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility.
"The construction permit application is a critical step to deliver on the vision of Congress and DOE to position the U.S. at the forefront of commercializing advanced reactor technology," said J. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy. "Together with our world-class partner, Dow, we will demonstrate how the technology deployed at Seadrift, Texas, can be quickly and efficiently replicated to meet incredible power demand growth across America."
In recent years, X-energy has completed engineering and preliminary design of its nuclear reactor while also developing a fuel fabrication plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, home of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The company also has close to $1.1 billion in private funding to scale up its plans.
The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) which is designed to accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors through cost-shared partnerships with U.S. industry.
The key points of the application made to the NRC by X-energy and Dow focus on the safety profile of the Xe-100 advanced SMR with fuel design, passive safety features and analysis. The Xe-100 is designed as a gas-cooled reactor which could generate 80 MW per unit of capacity and possibly be combined into a “four-pack” configuration.
Once fully approved, construction of the Long Mott station and installation of the SMR could take several years, perhaps even a decade. The construction permitting itself could take up to 30 months, according to reports.
Dow acquired Union Carbide beginning in 1999 and fully completed the takeover by 2021. The Seadrift facility began production in 1954 and is one of the oldest industrial plants in the U.S.
Ironically, Union Carbide was the contracted operator of the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory for several decades ending in the 1980s. The DOE's Oak Ridge National Lab is one of the nation's key research sites for new nuclear technologies.
Commercial and industrial sectors considering SMR nuclear include data centers and large-scale manufacturing plants. Tech companies which are created partnerships with next-gen nuclear technology firms include Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Oracle, among others.
The future of industrial-scale and SMR nuclear-powered microgrids will be the focus of content sessions at the Microgrid Knowledge Conference happening later this month in Dallas.
MKG 2025 is happening April 15-17 at the Sheraton Dallas. Registration is still open.
