Amazon is funding development of a proposed 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana, the companies announced Monday. Amazon would be the first customer to buy the plant's power. Utility company American Electric Power (AEP) would operate the plant. X-energy would supply 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors for the site of a demolished coal power plant just south of Terre Haute.
The deal is the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy. The agreement is three times larger than the first agreement, which was announced two years ago. Amazon led a $700 million Series C-1 investment round in X-energy in October 2024. Amazon and X-energy have said the companies ultimately plan to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the U.S. by 2039.
Unlike many newly announced power plants, the Indiana reactors would connect to the public electric grid. Amazon says the power would also serve Amazon's data centers. The companies' aggressive timeline depends on X-energy successfully delivering the company's first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant southeast of Houston, Texas.
The Texas site, called Seadrift, has recently been at the center of a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas. Texas accuses the plant of "habitual non-compliance" with water and solid-waste regulations and permits. X-energy has yet to break ground at Seadrift. Seadrift will host four Xe-100 reactors to provide the chemical plant with heat and electricity. X-energy said the construction permit is in the final phases of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review process.
Startups and large cloud computing companies are betting that small modular reactors will help revive the nuclear industry. The most recent nuclear power plants built in the U.S. suffered severe budget overruns and schedule delays. Companies such as X-energy hope smaller reactors and mass manufacturing will bring costs and schedules under control. Experts say mass manufacturing often does not start producing benefits for about a decade.
X-energy debuted on the Nasdaq in April through an initial public offering priced at $23 per share. Investor excitement drove X-energy's share price up 27% on the first day of trading. X-energy shares have dropped by nearly two-thirds since then. News of the Amazon deal sent X-energy shares up about 10% in premarket trading. However, X-energy shares were down by less than 2% at the time of publication.
Amazon to Fund 12 Small Nuclear Reactors at Former Indiana Coal Plant
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Summary
Amazon is funding a 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana, featuring 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors from X-energy. The plant, to be built at a former coal site and operated by American Electric Power, will supply power to Amazon data centers. Amazon will be the first buyer of the energy and has signed a deal three times larger than their previous agreement. The company also led a $700 million investment in X-energy last October, as new token listings continue to drive innovation in energy and finance. With inflation data remaining a key concern, such long-term infrastructure projects are gaining attention in the market.
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