ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC, a leading developer of advanced small modular nuclear reactor and fuel technology for clean energy generation, announced today a strategic investment from DL E&C (KRX: 375500) and Doosan Enerbility (KRX: 034020) (“Doosan”) of $25 million in a private round of financing pursuant to the Company’s previously announced Series C-2 investment round to support the advancement of the global deployment of X-energy’s Xe-100 Generation IV advanced small modular reactor.
Leading nuclear industry heavyweights, DL E&C and Doosan, focus respectively on global engineering, procurement and construction and major nuclear component design and manufacturing, with each company bringing decades of experience and expertise in the nuclear power industry.
Doosan—which will continue to work with X-energy as a major component and system vendor—will engineer, supply and manufacture key components for the Xe-100 plant, including the reactor pressure vessel, a critical component that contains the reactor core, composed largely of X-energy’s proprietary TRISO-X nuclear fuel. Doosan and X-energy also plan to jointly pursue diverse applications of the Xe-100 technology, such as efficient provision of power and heat to industrial processes like hydrogen production.
DL E&C—one of the world’s leading power and energy sector engineering and construction firms, having installed 51GW of power plants in 17 countries and participated in the construction of several nuclear plants—will work with X-energy to identify opportunities around the world to employ its renowned practices to support the deployment of Xe-100 plants on a global scale.
In addition to the $25 million investment from DL E&C and Doosan, X-energy is continuing to negotiate the terms of a potential incremental investment from certain additional Korean investors. To date, X-energy has raised $148 million in financing to support its previously-announced proposed business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: AAC) (“AAC”); to the extent raised, any additional proceeds would be additive to this amount.
“We are thrilled to partner with world-class nuclear companies like Doosan and DL E&C as we continue to work toward the deployment of our Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor,” said X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell. “These companies’ expertise and support has been and will continue to be invaluable as we continue to expand our business. We are grateful for their confidence in our technology, our team and our mission to revolutionize the energy industry.”
“Beyond our long-standing business focus on large-scale nuclear equipment supply, Doosan has established a solid foothold in SMR as a global foundry,” said Jongdoo Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Nuclear Business Group of Doosan. “We are very glad to take part as a key supplier of major equipment including the reactor for the Xe-100, the Gen. IV HTGR of X-energy.”
“Our investment in X-energy, coupled with our intention to help develop and deploy the world’s leading nuclear technology, is in-line with our stated goal to focus on eco-friendly projects as our growth engines for the future,” said Mr. Jaeho Yoo, Chief Executive for Plant Business Division of DL E&C. “To fulfill decarbonization goals with alternative energy, X-energy has impressed us the most with their industry-leading multi-application reactor with several use cases for chemical process plants which has long been DL E&C’s core competency. We are excited to work together with X-energy to deploy the Xe-100 around the world as the most versatile reactor technology to achieve net zero through pioneering hydrogen and ammonia.”
As previously announced on December 6, 2022, X-energy has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with AAC, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023, the combined company will be named X-energy, Inc. and its common equity securities and warrants are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by AAC’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions.
About X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC
X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC, is a leading developer of small modular nuclear reactor and fuel technology for clean energy generation that is redefining the nuclear energy industry through its development of safer and more efficient advanced small modular nuclear reactors and proprietary fuel to deliver reliable, zero-carbon and affordable energy to people around the world. X-energy’s simplified, modular and intrinsically safe SMR design expands applications and markets for deployment of nuclear technology and drives enhanced safety, lower cost and faster construction timelines when compared with conventional nuclear and broader use cases when compared with other SMRs. For more information, visit X-energy.com or connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
About Doosan Enerbility
Doosan supplies not only the core components of nuclear power plants, such as reactors, steam generators, reactor cooling pumps, but also man-machine interface systems, nuclear fuel handling facilities, nuclear fuel casks, turbines & generators and the majority of auxiliary equipment for nuclear reactor systems to domestic and overseas nuclear power plants. Doosan maintains a high quality standard based on extensive experience in manufacturing major components of nuclear power plants. Doosan has an integrated manufacturing facility in Changwon, Korea, which is capable of raw material production to final assembly of nuclear components. Doosan has manufactured and supplied 34 reactor pressure vessels & 124 steam generators globally. For more information, visit: https://www.doosanenerbility.com/en.
About DL E&C
Since its establishment in 1939, DL E&C has been providing a broad range of solution services in global mid/downstream energy sector such as oil & gas, refining petrochemical and power plant including nuclear as an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contactor with abundant track records in more than 35 nations. DL E&C is the flagship company of DL Group, which consists of 13 affiliates in chemical, developer, power generation, logistics, manufacturing, IT, etc. For more information, visit www.dlenc.co.kr/eng/main.do.
About Ares Acquisition Corporation
AAC is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with Ares Management Corporation, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. AAC is seeking to pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or sector in North America, Europe or Asia. For more information about AAC, please visit www.aresacquisitioncorporation.com.
