X-energy has joined Idaho National Laboratory in a major effort to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors through artificial intelligence, positioning the company as a Tier 1 partner in Project Prometheus.
The announcement came July 22, 2026, as X-energy became a founding member of the three-year initiative, which received a $60 million federal award under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission. The company committed an additional $10 million in private capital and secured board representation in the project leadership structure.
Project Prometheus brings together 32 laboratories, universities, and private technology companies to explore how AI can streamline reactor design, licensing, manufacturing, construction, and operational workflows. The initiative is led by Idaho National Laboratory in partnership with NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services.
X-energy’s Role and Contributions
X-energy brings significant capabilities to the collaboration through its proprietary technology platform and commercial pipeline. The company contributed its Xe-100 small modular reactor design and TRISO-X fuel designs—specialized fuel pellets engineered for enhanced safety and performance. X-energy also developed a multi-agentic AI system called APEX, which applies machine learning to nuclear operations and design challenges.
The company currently maintains commercial projects across multiple sectors. X-energy has agreements with industrial partners Dow and Amazon, as well as energy company Centrica, to develop new reactor capacity. A separate arrangement between X-energy and Amazon includes an option to deploy more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generation by 2039.
Overall, X-energy is advancing more than 11 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity across the United States and United Kingdom, reflecting growing corporate and utility demand for carbon-free baseload power.
AI’s Role in Nuclear Innovation
The integration of artificial intelligence into nuclear energy development addresses several industry bottlenecks. Reactor design, safety certification, manufacturing processes, and day-to-day operations can all benefit from machine learning systems that identify optimization opportunities, reduce timelines, and improve cost efficiency.
X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell underscored the significance of the moment in a statement about the initiative: “We stand at the edge of one of humanity’s great technical evolutions, and its infrastructure build-out has already begun.”
The initiative reflects broader momentum within the nuclear sector. Idaho National Lab is leading efforts to modernize the U.S. nuclear fleet as artificial intelligence intensifies energy demand across data centers, computing facilities, and industrial operations. Technology companies, particularly those operating large-scale data centers, have emerged as major consumers of clean energy and are increasingly turning to nuclear as a reliable, emissions-free power source.
Regional and National Impact
Project Prometheus positions Idaho as a central hub for advanced nuclear technology development and deployment strategy. The region has also received federal support for nuclear workforce training, with a $31 million award targeting skilled labor development across Idaho and Wyoming. These initiatives collectively signal sustained federal investment in nuclear energy innovation and the human capital required to execute complex projects.
The alignment of national laboratories, academic institutions, and private firms under a single coordinated effort reflects the scale of the challenge: deploying new nuclear capacity quickly enough to meet projected energy demand while maintaining safety, security, and cost competitiveness against renewable and fossil-fuel alternatives.
What Comes Next
X-energy and its partners will spend the next three years developing and testing integrated AI systems designed to accelerate every phase of reactor deployment. Results from Project Prometheus could influence licensing approaches, manufacturing strategies, and operational practices across the nuclear industry nationwide. Additionally, X-energy’s commercial commitments—particularly the Amazon partnership—will serve as real-world test cases for deploying new small modular reactor capacity in industrial and corporate power applications.