Nuclear power startup X-energy raised $1 billion in an initial public offering yesterday, selling 44.3 million shares at $23 per share. That’s a premium over $16 to $19 per share. Initially, the company had hoped to raise about $800 million in funding.
The stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol XE starting Friday.
X-energy is building small, modular nuclear reactors that can generate electricity or transfer heat to industrial processes. The company has a deal with Dow to provide heat and power to a chemical plant in Texas and a deal with Amazon to sell up to 5 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2039. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund led X-energy’s Series C-1 round.
Nuclear startups like X-energy have been fueled by surging demand for electricity in data centers and other sectors of the economy.
The company said its reactor will produce 80 megawatts of electricity. Each Xe-100 reactor is cooled by helium gas flowing over billiard ball-sized “pebbles” packed with BB-sized TRISO fuel pellets. TRISO fuel, which contains a uranium kernel wrapped in carbon and silicon, was developed several years ago to be safer than existing fuel designs, although it is not widely used. X-energy says its fuel can withstand higher temperatures, which helps contain the fuel and reduce the likelihood of melting.
