The United States took a decisive step toward nuclear-powered industry on 9 November 2026, when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction permit for the Long Mott Generating Station in Calhoun County, Texas.
The project, developed by X-energy and Dow through Dow’s subsidiary Long Mott Energy, will feature four Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors at Dow’s Seadrift Operations site. It will be the first advanced nuclear facility approved to power an industrial site in the United States.
Each Xe-100 is rated at 80 megawatts electric and 200 megawatts thermal. Together, the four units will deliver 320 megawatts electric and 800 megawatts thermal, supplying electricity and high-temperature steam to Seadrift. The plant is intended to replace ageing energy and steam assets, and to serve the site for 60 years.
The permit is also a first for the reactor type. It marks the first NRC construction permit approval for a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in nearly 60 years, the first ever for a pebble-bed reactor, and the first ever for a nuclear industrial deployment. The regulator found the Xe-100 can be safely sited and built inside an operating industrial plant.
That advantage comes from the design. The Xe-100 is a helium-cooled, pebble-bed reactor using TRISO-X coated particle fuel, described by the Department of Energy as the most robust nuclear fuel on Earth. Its passive safety characteristics are expected to support an emergency planning zone of just 400 metres, compared with 10 miles for conventional reactors. Power and heat can be generated close to the point of need.
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The project is being advanced under the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The permit completes the NRC’s safety and environmental reviews, and allows the companies to advance toward construction readiness, finalise the design, mature the supply chain, and develop an operating licence application.
There is still work to do before construction begins. A construction permit authorises building; it does not authorise operation. Dow is expected to consider a preliminary investment decision in 2027, with full-scale construction following a final decision. First delivery is targeted for the early 2030s.
For mining, the implications go beyond Texas. Mines and processing plants are among the most energy-intensive operations in the world, and many are remote, where grid power is expensive or unreliable. A modular reactor delivering steady electricity and high-temperature heat, with a small footprint and a 60-year life, addresses energy security and decarbonisation at once.
As governments seek secure supplies of lithium, rare earths, uranium and copper, processing them will need clean, firm power.
Long Mott is not yet a built plant, and investors should not mistake a permit for a final decision. Yet the milestone is real, and it was achieved on schedule. If Dow proceeds, Seadrift will become a test case for whether advanced nuclear can serve heavy industry at scale. Mining companies watching energy costs and supply security should be watching it closely.
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