Federal regulators approve permit to build four small advanced nuclear reactors at a Dow chemical plant in Texas
The companies say it is the first U.S. construction permit for a gas-cooled reactor in nearly 60 years. The reactors still need an operating license, and Dow has not decided to build.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that licenses nuclear plants, approved a permit Nov. 9 to build four small nuclear reactors at Dow’s chemical plant in Seadrift, Texas, according to reactor designer X-energy and Dow. The companies say it is the first U.S. construction permit for an advanced reactor at an industrial site and the first for a gas-cooled reactor in nearly 60 years. NRC Chairman Ho K. Nieh said the agency met its 18-month review schedule.
What would be built
X-energy, based in Rockville, Maryland, designs the Xe-100, a small modular reactor, meaning a smaller reactor built largely from factory-made parts. Each unit makes 80 megawatts of electricity or 200 megawatts of heat. Four together would make about 320 megawatts, the NRC says. The plant would send both power and high-temperature steam to Dow’s plant, replacing aging equipment.
How it differs from today’s reactors
Most U.S. reactors are cooled by water. The Xe-100 uses helium gas. Its fuel is poppy-seed-sized bits of uranium, each sealed in ceramic layers and packed into graphite balls that move through the reactor core, X-energy says. The company says the fuel cannot melt and that the reaction slows on its own if the core gets too hot. It says that would allow a 400-meter emergency planning zone, compared with 10 miles for conventional reactors.
Not final yet
The permit does not allow the plant to run; it needs a separate operating license. Dow is expected to consider a preliminary decision to invest in 2027, and full construction would start only after a final decision, the companies say. They target first power in the early 2030s. The project is part of a U.S. Energy Department program that helps pay for new reactor designs. X-energy also has projects with Amazon.
Source: X-energy and Dow announcement, Nov. 9, 2026 and NRC Long Mott project page.