By Avi Salzman
Buzzy nuclear start-up X-Energy plans to go public this week, and investor interest will probably be high.
The Maryland-based fuel and reactor developer already has partnerships with Amazon and Dow, the chemical producer, and a financing deal with the government. It expects to have at least one reactor up and running by the early 2030s.
X-Energy is looking to raise about $750 million at a valuation that could exceed $7 billion when it goes public on the Nasdaq with the ticker XE. It's expected to price on Thursday after the close, according to Fidelity.
There are at least 50 companies vying to build new kinds of nuclear reactors around the world, and it's too soon to tell which companies will become the biggest players.
But X-Energy stands out as one of a handful of advanced reactor developers with a strong likelihood of success, said Chris Gadomski, lead nuclear analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance. He ranks it in his top three advanced reactors, along with privately held firms Terrapower and Kairos Power.
X-Energy checks some important boxes: It has deals with multiple major corporations, has raised substantial capital, controls its own intellectual property, and has a strong relationship with the government.
The start-up has received equity financing from Amazon, as part of more than $2 billion in financing. Gadomski said he believes the Amazon equity investment was for at least $200 million, though neither company publicly disclose the amount.
Amazon is working on a project with X-Energy in Washington state, and has said it is considering joining with X-Energy to bring on as much as 5 gigawatts worth of its reactors by 2039.
X-Energy CEO J. Clay Sell also stands out as a competent leader, Gadomski added.
"He's an impressive character," he said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and he understands the dynamics and the challenges."
That said, the company and its competitors still face a high bar. There aren't any small reactors in the U.S., and X-Energy's design hasn't been licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It makes revenue from offering nuclear services, but posted a loss of nearly $400 million in 2025.
Investor enthusiasm for the industry also appears to have waned. After a surge in nuclear stocks last year, hot names like Oklo and Nuscale have been falling this year. Nuclear tech is certainly advancing, with help from the federal government, but the enthusiasm about the stocks may have gotten ahead of itself.
X-Energy uses a different technology than the reactors that dominate the U.S. industry today -- one that the company says is safer and more efficient than the older style of reactors. Its reactors are designed to be cooled with gas instead of water, and operate at higher temperatures.
The heat that the reactors produce offers a secondary source of energy that can help industrial users. It's one reason that Dow partnered with X-Energy on a chemical plant in Texas. That project received a $1.2 billion financing commitment from the Energy Department in 2020.
The fuel that X-Energy uses is different, too. It's more highly enriched than the uranium that most reactors use, and is encased in silicon carbide, a material considered impervious to high heat, greatly reducing the risk of meltdowns. X-Energy also makes the fuel pellets used in its own and other reactors, giving it a second business line.
So-called high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors are rare today. A couple were tested in the U.S. and the U.K. over 50 years ago, and there's one operating in China.
One top Amazon executive told Barron's in 2024 that X-Energy's technology stood out to the tech giant as it reviewed options for clean energy.
"We're very bullish about the technology," said Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman. "We think that it's one of the key parts of our portfolio going forward as we move towards completely clean energy."
Write to Avi Salzman at avi.salzman@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2026 16:18 ET (20:18 GMT)
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