Amazon, nuclear technology company X-Energy, power provider Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corporation (“KHNP”), and energy solutions and equipment provider Doosan Enerbility announced the launch of a new strategic partnership, aimed at scaling the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors to help meet growing the power demands from data centers and AI infrastructure in the U.S.
The new partnership follows a collaboration announced last year by Amazon and X-Energy to bring more than 5 GW of small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) projects online across the U.S. by 2039. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund also led a $700 million financing round for X-Energy to support the commercialization of the company’s SMR technology.
Founded in 2009, Rockville, Maryland-based X-Energy is a developer of nuclear reactor and fuel technology. The company’s TRISO-X fuel seals uranium particles in a protective coating, which can withstand high temperatures without melting, making it highly resistant to fuel failure and release of radioactive materials, eliminating the need for massive containment facilities. The company’s SMR reactor, Xe-100 is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor operates at temperatures higher than 750°C, and contains more than 200,000 TRISO-X-based fuel pebbles, which are gravity-fed in continuous rotation through the core, allowing the reactor to run without fuel interruption for 60 years. Helium is circulated through the core, absorbing immense heat, and is used to boil water into steam to turn a turbine for the production of carbon-free energy.
Under the new partnership, the companies said that they aim to accelerate the deployment of the Xe-100 fourth generation advanced SMRs and TRISO-X fuel in the U.S. KHNP, Doosan, and additional Korean industrial partners have agreed to support Amazon and X-energy’s plans to deploy more than five GW of new nuclear energy across the U.S. Doosan has agreed to secure the manufacturing capabilities required for the deployment of Xe-100 modules. KHNP has constructed and operated 36 nuclear power plants since 1971.
The companies added that they aim to mobilize up to $50 billion in public and private investment to support the future of nuclear energy in the U.S.
X-Energy CEO J. Clay Sell said:
“This partnership brings together proven nuclear leadership and experience from Korean industry and X-energy’s advanced reactor and fuel technology to meet a historic energy challenge. By combining our expertise, we are ensuring that we are best positioned to accelerate the Xe-100 SMR into the marketplace with the unique knowledge and skills developed throughout the South Korea industrial supply chain. Collaboration between the United States and South Korea in this critical sector is vital to preserving American leadership in the AI race and surpassing China as the leader in nuclear development.”
The new partnership marks the latest in a series of nuclear deals by Amazon, as it moves beyond renewable energy to achieve its sustainability goals. Amazon pledged in 2019 to match all of the electricity consumed across its global operations, including data centers, corporate buildings, stores and fulfillment centers, with 100% renewable energy by 2030. While the company announced in July 2024 that it achieved its 100% clean energy goal 7 years ahead of schedule, it also stated at the time that the increasing demand for generative AI “will require different sources of energy than we originally projected,” and that it will explore new carbon-free energy sources in addition to its continued investments in renewables. The company recently revealed that it has invested over $1 billion over the past year in nuclear energy projects and technologies.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Head of Worldwide Energy, Vibhu Kaushik, said:
“Data centers are the critical infrastructure needed to support AI leadership, and their power needs continue to accelerate to meet the growing needs of our customers. By forming this partnership with KHNP and Doosan along with X-energy, we’re continuing to pursue innovative carbon-free solutions and technology to help meet the increasing energy demand, and we’re excited that this will help us enable over five gigawatts of new nuclear energy in the U.S.”
