X-energy Delivers Second Information Package for CNSC Pre-Licensing Vendor Design Review

TORONTO, Canada (Feb. 24, 2021) — X-energy has delivered its second information package to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) as part of the regulator’s Pre-Licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR), achieving another significant milestone toward demonstrating our Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR) design’s compliance with regulatory requirements in Canada.

“The Xe-100 is a remarkably simple and safe design that will help Canada meet our Climate Plan goals and will build on our growing global leadership in SMR technology,” said Katherine Moshonas Cole, President of X-energy Canada. “CNSC feedback through the VDR is indispensable to ensuring our design is aligned with regulator expectations, absent any fundamental barriers to licensing and even better positioned for further application around the world.”

An optional service provided by the CNSC, the VDR is a comprehensive assessment that considers the compatibility of a nuclear power plant design with respect to Canadian nuclear regulatory requirements and expectations. In consideration of the advanced stage of the Xe-100 design, it is undergoing a combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 review.

This second package included more than 100 documents and provided final or partial input to 12 focus areas, including X-energy’s complete submission on fuel design and development.

“We’ve made significant progress in Canada by working closely with our Canadian partners,” said Moshonas Cole. “We’re pleased to be partnered with Kinectrics for their leadership and bench strength in regulatory affairs and licensing, which have been integral during the VDR. Our business approach, based on partnering with leading Canadian companies, supplies the Xe-100 design with a best-in-class team and provides opportunities for the Canadian industry, presently and in the future. All these efforts are fully in-keeping with our commitments to the federal government’s SMR Action Plan.”

The Xe-100 design builds on decades of high-temperature gas reactor operation and research and development. Our 80 MWe reactors, scalable up to a 320 MWe four-unit plant, bring grid-scale power to electricity systems that include intermittent renewables and can provide energy self-sufficiency for remote communities. Furthermore, the high-temperature steam and co-generation features make it ideal as a carbon-free source for hydrogen production, mining, and other resource projects.