US-based X-Energy reactor company and Japanese engineering company IHI Corporation have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial & Business Forum to expand US-Japan supply chain development for X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor (SMR). The MOU establishes a collaboration framework to explore opportunities for commercial-scale manufacture of nuclear-grade components.
The collaboration will focus on the design, engineering, manufacturability, and supply chain development of Main Power System (MPS) pressure boundary components to support anticipated large-scale reactor deployment programs in the global markets. The MOU provides a framework for discussions and information exchange related to the potential production of MPS Sets, including reactor pressure vessels, reactor internals, steam generator pressure vessels. steam generator internals and cross vessels.
X-energy said the partnership aims to expand its supplier base for critical, long-lead components for the Xe-100 as the company scales its supply chain to meet the needs of its 144-unit commercial orderbook. X-energy’s supply chain strategy emphasises partnerships with multiple qualified manufacturers to ensure production capacity and supply certainty. The agreement with IHI expected to complement X-energy’s existing commercial supplier agreements.
The companies will collaborate to assess manufacturing opportunities for critical components used in X-energy’s high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). IHI has extensive experience manufacturing a range of safety-critical components for HTGRs, as well as established relationships with Japanese materials suppliers and component manufacturers to support broader US-Japan SMR supply chain development.
IHI possesses highly specialised nuclear manufacturing capabilities largely unavailable at commercial scale in the US. Sustained collaboration directly integrates Japanese manufacturing expertise into US nuclear supply chain development, advancing shared US-Japan priorities on energy infrastructure investment and strategic manufacturing cooperation.
“Deploying new nuclear at scale requires capacity and expertise that extends beyond any single supplier, and a global coalition of allied partners committed to driving the work forward,” said Dinkar Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer at X-energy. “We look forward to exploring opportunities with IHI, and the prospect of combining Japanese manufacturing excellence with American innovation to advance our shared priorities.”
X-energy is currently developing more than 11 GWe of new nuclear capacity across commercial partnerships in the US and UK. In Texas, X-energy and Dow are advancing a proposed four-unit plant under the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. This is expected to be followed by Energy Northwest’s Cascade Advanced Energy Facility – the first of several projects to deploy at least 5 GWe with Amazon by 2039 – and a 6 GWe commitment from Centrica for the UK’s first advanced reactor fleet.
X-energy’s preliminary agreement with IHI aims to support deployment at this scale and follows a series of binding supply chain commitments for long-lead components including with Japan’s Toyo Tanso for fine-grain graphite, SGL Carbon for medium-grain graphite, and Doosan Enerbility for main power system components.
