Amazon Funds Study of Proposed Nuclear Project in Push for More Than 5 GW by 2039
Key Facts
X-energy and AEP announced a joint development agreement on October 19 to study the feasibility of a proposed small modular reactor project in Indiana, with development funding from Amazon. The agreement places the project in the assessment stage, not in the construction or plant implementation phase. Amazon will provide staged funding for development work, according to X-energy’s announcement. The project would be the second commercial deployment under Amazon and X-energy’s collaboration, which aims to add more than 5 GW of new nuclear power to the U.S. grid by 2039. The partnership divides the roles among a development funder and two companies assessing feasibility, before a decision on the potential project.
AEP’s chief executive said agreements with Amazon and X-energy would provide “capital protection and financial guarantees necessary for any potential nuclear project to move forward.” The statement underscores the importance of financing and financial protections in evaluating the project, without indicating that a construction decision has been made. X-energy is developing the Xe-100 reactor, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that uses helium for cooling and TRISO fuel. The company describes the proposed Indiana project as the third announced commercial project for the Xe-100 in the United States and the fourth announced project globally in its commercial pipeline. That pipeline totals about 11.5 GW, according to the company.
The move precedes a longer path to develop the technology and deploy it commercially. X-energy’s first proposed Xe-100 deployment comprises four units at a Dow manufacturing site on the Texas Gulf Coast. The project is planned to supply electricity and high-temperature industrial steam to the manufacturing site. X-energy said the construction permit application for the Texas project had reached the final stages of review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That process shows that the company’s projects are at different stages of development and licensing, while the Indiana project remains at the feasibility stage. The announcement did not specify when a decision on building the proposed project in the state would be made.
The announcement follows volatility in the sector’s investment performance. VanEck said its nuclear energy and uranium fund was down about 15% since the start of 2026 and about 35% from its peak on January 28, as of July 17. The company attributed the decline to a shift in sentiment, positioning and valuations, rather than a collapse in the sector’s fundamentals. The fund had returned about 35.8% in 2023, 14.7% in 2024 and 55.8% in 2025, according to VanEck data. Amazon shares closed at $248 on October 23, according to EL7 data. The following week, investors were watching results from companies linked to artificial intelligence, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, to assess returns on spending for infrastructure in the field, the Associated Press reported.