OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TRISO-X, LLC ("TRISO-X" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of advanced nuclear fuels and wholly-owned subsidiary of X-Energy, Inc. ("X-energy") (NASDAQ: XE), today announced it has received an $11 million economic development grant from the State of Tennessee. The funding will support the continued development of the Company's fuel fabrication campus in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, including a potential second commercial fuel facility and a dedicated research and development center. The award marks an important milestone in TRISO-X's efforts to advance U.S. energy security through America's first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel campus.
Funding is awarded through the State of Tennessee's Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Investment Fund, established by Governor Bill Lee in 2023 to support nuclear investment, workforce development, and site development to expand the State's nuclear manufacturing ecosystem. The expansion is expected to be built at the Oak Ridge Horizon Center adjacent to TRISO-X's first commercial-scale fuel fabrication facility currently being constructed and developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.
Together, the three facilities are designed to establish domestic, commercial-scale manufacturing and research capabilities for TRISO-X fuel, the Company's proprietary tri-structural isotropic ("TRISO") fuel:
TX-1: Expected to be the first purpose-built commercial TRISO fuel fabrication facility in the United States, currently under construction, and designed to establish domestic production of TRISO-X fuel.
TX-2: A second, larger fuel fabrication facility anticipated to significantly expand capacity, with enhanced automation and production efficiency based on TX-1 operational experience, expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs.
TX-L: A dedicated fuel fabrication laboratory facility focused on fuel innovation, testing, and continuous improvement of TRISO manufacturing processes.
When completed, the campus is expected to establish one of the world's largest commercial-scale nuclear fuel fabrication campuses, with the capacity to produce enough TRISO-X fuel to support approximately 55 of X-energy's Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors. That represents nearly 4.5 gigawatts of new advanced nuclear power capacity, or enough to power 3.3 million U.S. households.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said, "Oak Ridge represents the frontier of American energy independence and cutting-edge research. We are proud to announce additional jobs and investment from TRISO-X today, bringing more than 1,000 new high-quality job opportunities and strengthening Tennessee's role as a national leader in advanced energy innovation."