Amazon Funds 12 Small Nuclear Reactors at Indiana Plant
Amazon and X-energy are collaborating on a second commercial agreement to deploy 12 small modular nuclear reactors at a former coal plant site in Indiana.
Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer
Project Overview and Location
Amazon is funding development of a proposed 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana and would be the first customer to buy its power, the companies announced Monday. Utility company American Electric Power (AEP) would operate the plant. X-energy, which designs small modular nuclear reactors and went public in April, would supply the reactors.
The new power plant would consist of 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors and be located on the site of a demolished coal power plant just south of Terre Haute. According to The proposed plant, it would replace the now defunct coal-fueled Breed Generating Station in Fairbanks, Sullivan County.
Collaboration History and Goals
The deal is the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy, and it is three times larger than the first, which was announced two years ago. Amazon has invested heavily in X-energy, leading a $700 million Series C-1 round in October 2024. The two companies have said they ultimately plan to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the U.S. by 2039.
Unlike many newly announced power plants, these reactors would be connected to the public electric grid, though Amazon says the power would also serve its data centers. Big Tech has cozied up to nuclear energy as cloud providers and artificial intelligence firms look for reliable, carbon-free electricity sources to power massive server farms.
Regulatory and Construction Challenges
The companies’ aggressive timeline still depends on X-energy successfully delivering its first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant southeast of Houston, Texas. The site, called Seadrift, has recently been at the center of a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas, which accuses the plant of habitual non-compliance with water and solid-waste regulations and permits.
X-energy has yet to break ground at Seadrift, which will host four Xe-100 reactors to provide the chemical plant with heat and electricity. The company said its construction permit is in the final phases of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review process.
Market Context and Industry Outlook
Startups and large cloud computing companies are betting that small modular reactors, like the kind being developed by X-energy, will help pull the nuclear industry out of its slump. The most recent nuclear power plants built in the U.S. suffered from egregious budget overruns and slipped timelines.
By shrinking the reactor, companies like X-energy hope that mass manufacturing will keep costs and schedules in line. Even then, it could be a tall order. Experts say mass manufacturing often doesn’t start producing benefits for about a decade.
X-energy debuted on the Nasdaq in April in an IPO priced at $23 per share. Investor excitement drove the price up 27% in the first day of trading, but shares of the newly public company have dropped by nearly two-thirds since then.
Sources
- TechCrunchAmazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors at former Indiana coal plant
- The VergeAmazon is funding a new nuclear plant in Indiana
Continue chronologically
Related stories
Amazon Scraps Northern Virginia Data Centers After Backlash
Amazon has abandoned plans to build four new data centers in Loudoun County, Northern Virginia, opting instead for a mixed-use project.
Amazon and Microsoft Drop Data Center NDAs
Amazon follows Microsoft's lead to stop using NDAs in local government negotiations over data centers amid growing community pushback.
Amazon Pledges $1 Billion for Data Center Communities
Amazon Web Services announces a $1 billion community investment program, though critics point out it represents a fraction of its AI budget.
Texas Suspends Data Center Permits and Shuts Down Portal
Texas halts 17 data center construction permits and disables an automated approval portal that kept running despite a governor-ordered pause.
