Matthew L. Wald and Spencer Toohill at Nuclear Notes:
X-energy’s high-temperature gas-cooled reactor has reached a major milestone, receiving a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, although some aspects of the project remain uncertain.
The nuclear plant is being developed by Long Mott Energy, LLC, a fully owned subsidiary of Dow, in partnership with X-energy, and will pump steam into Dow’s adjacent Seadrift chemical plant. The project comprises four of X-energy’s pebble-bed, graphite-moderated, helium-cooled reactors, though future projects could have up to 12, per X-energy.
The reactor is designed to follow load easily, whether that is electricity or industrial steam. Importantly, it will produce steam at 565 degrees C (1,049 degrees F), compared to the 270 to 285 degrees C (518 to 545 degrees F) of a typical pressurized water reactor. The higher temperature makes the steam useful in a variety of industrial processes, including at a chemical refinery. Higher-temperature steam can also generate more electricity from the same amount of thermal energy than lower-temperature steam.
More here.