US-based X-energy Reactor Company has announced a Definitive Supply Agreement with Toyo Tanso USA, a subsidiary of Japan-based Toyo Tanso Co, to supply fine-grain graphite components for the first deployment of X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR). The $40m agreement is a significant milestone for the proposed Long Mott Generating Station, a four-unit plant planned for deployment on the Texas Gulf Coast in partnership with Dow under the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
Toyo Tanso has agreed to manufacture graphite core structural components using their specialised IG-110 fine-grain isotropic graphite for the four Xe-100 reactors proposed for Dow’s project at its UCC Seadrift Operations site. X-energy and Toyo Tanso are also in discussions regarding graphite components for the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, X-energy’s project with Energy Northwest in Washington state, the first of several X-energy and Amazon projects targeting more than 5 GWe of new nuclear by 2039.
In addition to its proposed project with Dow, X-energy has announced customer engagements with Amazon and Centrica, potentially totalling more than 11 GWe across the US and the UK, equivalent to approximately 144 Xe-100 SMRs.
“World-class technology demands a world-class team, and Toyo Tanso’s proven track record is a powerful addition to that team,” said X-energy CEO J Clay Sell. “This is an important step forward on our path to the commercial market, securing a critical supply chain component for our first deployment with one of the world’s leading nuclear suppliers.”
Toyo Tanso says IG-110 is a highly reliable graphite material with a proven track record in high temperature gas-cooled reactors in Japan, China and France and is currently the only graphite material with such credentials in these markets. Delivery is planned for 2028. At present, prototype production and material qualification are underway. The final design phase is expected to be completed in 2026, after which the company will begin the manufacturing and processing of IG-110.
The Xe-100 design uses the material as both a neutron moderator and structural component, enabling the reactor to operate at high temperatures while maintaining exceptional safety characteristics.
