US nuclear reactor designer advances 6-gigawatt SMR fleet across the Atlantic

US-based X-energy, with UK's Centrica, has been accepted into the UK's Generic Design Assessment for the Xe-100 small modular reactor. Each unit provides 80 MW of electricity or 200 MW of heat, and the Hartlepool fleet is planned for 6 GW. The review will take about three years.

• Xe-100 is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor using TRISO-X fuel
• Unit output: 80 MW electric or 200 MW thermal
• Plant configurations range from 320 MW to 960 MW
• UK target is a fleet of up to 6 GW, with the first site at Hartlepool