TRISO-X, a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-Energy, has signed a 30-month agreement extension with the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to continue their advanced nuclear fuel research partnership. This newly extended Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) builds on a nearly decade-long relationship that started in 2016.
The partnership extension adds exactly 30 months to the collaborative project with the aim of scaling up the development and commercial-scale manufacturing of TRISO nuclear fuel particles. The agreement allows TRISO-X to continue running its pilot fabrication line directly inside the ORNL facility to perfect fuel quality and yields as well as improve characterization methods and processing streams. The optimisation of this fuel is designed to power next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs), microreactors, and various particle fuel markets.
The 30-month agreement builds on nearly a decade of joint research, technology transfer, and process development that has enabled TRISO-X to transition to advance fuel manufacturing at commercial scale.
“ORNL has been a critical partner in transforming years of TRISO fuel research into commercial manufacturing capability,” said Joel Duling, President of TRISO-X. “For a decade, our team has relied upon the Lab’s world-class capabilities and specialised facilities to solve complex technical challenges, mature manufacturing processes, and build the foundation for commercial fuel production. Extending this partnership ensures we continue advancing fuel technology that will strengthen America’s nuclear fuel supply chain and support the deployment of next-generation reactors.”
“ORNL’s partnership with TRISO-X demonstrates how national laboratories help accelerate the transition of transformative technologies from research to commercial application,” said ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer. “By combining ORNL’s deep expertise in nuclear materials and fuel development with TRISO-X’s manufacturing capabilities, we are advancing TRISO fuel production in ways that can support the next generation of nuclear energy.”
Since establishing its pilot fuel fabrication facility at ORNL in 2016, TRISO-X has begun construction of TX-1, the first US purpose-built commercial TRISO fuel fabrication facility. The TX-1 facility is currently under construction at the Horizon Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TRISO-X, having secured its foundational regulatory approvals, is rapidly scaling the site into a multi-facility, commercial nuclear fuel campus. Vertical building construction began in November 2025.
TRISO-X recently acquired additional land to expand the campus footprint to over 180 acres. In February 2026, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted TRISO-X a 40-year Special Nuclear Material Licence. This marks the first-ever NRC Part 70 licence for a commercial high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication facility. Commercial fuel fabrication at TX-1 is projected to begin in early 2028. TX-1 will exclusively manufacture X-energy’s proprietary TRISO-X fuel. Its first major delivery will supply four of X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactors (SMRs) being built at a Dow chemical plant in Seadrift, Texas.
TRISO-X’s overall plan for its Oak Ridge campus has evolved beyond TX-1 into a three-facility layout supported by an $11m grant from Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Investment Fund. A second, much larger fuel fabrication facility, TX-2, is planned for the same campus. It is already covered under the 40-year NRC licence obtained in February. TX-2 will use operational data from TX-1 to implement high-level automation, drastically increasing HALEU production capacity and aiming to create over 1,000 permanent jobs.
A dedicated, state-of-the-art fuel fabrication laboratory is also planned. It will focus entirely on commercial fuel innovation, testing, and continuous process improvements for TRISO manufacturing streams. Along with the existing ORNL Pilot Line, once constructed, the combined campus will be one of the largest commercial nuclear fuel fabrication sites globally, capable of producing enough TRISO fuel to support up to 55 Xe-100 advanced SMRs.
