X-Energy, Amazon, AEP Partner To Evaluate Feasibility Of 960 MW Nuclear Project In Indiana – A Look At The Key Highlights

AEP CEO Bill Fehrman said the agreements with Amazon and X-energy would provide all necessary capital protections and financial safeguards.

• Amazon plans to fund development and purchase power under a long-term contract.
• The proposed plant would use 12 Xe-100 reactors, each designed to generate 80 MW of electricity.
• The Indiana project marks the second commercial deployment under X-energy and Amazon’s collaboration, which targets more than 5 GW of new nuclear capacity on the U.S. grid by 2039.

X-energy (XE) and American Electric Power (AEP) on Monday announced a joint development agreement to evaluate the feasibility of a proposed 960-megawatt small modular reactor project in Indiana, with Amazon (AMZN) supporting the project’s development through a funding agreement.

AEP CEO Bill Fehrman said the agreements with Amazon and X-energy would provide “all necessary capital protections and financial safeguards” that the utility considers essential for a potential nuclear project to move forward.

XE traded 2% higher, AMZN gained 3.75%, and AEP fell 1.13% at the time of writing.

Amazon Supports Indiana Nuclear Project

The proposed plant would feature a 12-unit Xe-100 plant near the former Breed Generating Station in Sullivan County, Indiana. The project would redevelop an AEP-owned brownfield site for advanced nuclear power.

Amazon will provide milestone-based development capital to advance feasibility work. The project marks the second commercial development under X-energy and Amazon’s collaboration, which aims to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity to the U.S. grid by 2039. The other project under the collaboration is the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Washington state, involving Energy Northwest.

X-Energy’s Xe-100 Pipeline

Each Xe-100 reactor is designed to generate 80 megawatts of electricity. The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor uses helium as a coolant and tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel.

X-energy said the Indiana proposal is its third announced commercial U.S. Xe-100 project and fourth announced worldwide. The company’s commercial pipeline totals approximately 11.5 GW.

Its first Xe-100 deployment is a proposed four-unit plant at a Dow manufacturing site on the Texas Gulf Coast, designed to provide electricity and high-temperature industrial steam. X-energy said the project was in the final phases of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of its construction permit application.

How Retail Views XE, AMZN & AEP

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for XE remained “Bullish” amid “High” message volume over the past 24 hours. XE and AMZN were also among the platform’s trending tickers at the time of writing. Meanwhile, retail sentiment toward  AMZN and AEP stayed in “Bearish” territory.

One bullish Stocktwits user called the proposed Indiana nuclear project “a real long-term power play,” adding that AEP’s chart was “pressing into resistance with rising lows.”

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XE shares are down more than 53% year to date, while AEP has gained over 7% and AMZN has risen more than 13% over the same period.

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