X-Energy, Talen Energy Partner to Explore Multiple SMR Deployments Across Pennsylvania

X-energy Reactor Company and Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TLN) signed a Letter of Intent to assess deploying X-energy's XE-100 small modular reactors in Pennsylvania and across the PJM Interconnection Regional Transmission Organization market. The deal puts a concrete number on ambition: the companies will explore opportunities to deploy three or more four-unit XE-100 plants to add clean baseload capacity to help support reliability and meet growing energy demand from onshoring of manufacturing, data centers, and electrification.

At 320 MWe per four-unit plant, three deployments alone would push toward gigawatt-scale generation inside one of the most capacity-stressed grids in the country. PJM coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Talen already has skin in the game there: in June 2025, Talen signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Amazon to supply up to 1,920 MW of electricity from its Susquehanna nuclear power station. The rest of its regional fleet is a different story; most of Talen's other Pennsylvania-area facilities run on coal and natural gas, making them obvious candidates for the conversion strategy both companies are now formally studying.

Under the agreement, X-energy and Talen plan to conduct early-stage project development activities, including feasibility studies, site evaluations, and a project execution framework. While specific siting parameters have yet to be finalized, the companies intend to assess opportunities to transition fossil-fired generation to nuclear power through X-energy SMRs, leveraging established infrastructure, transmission connectivity, and workforce resources. That last point matters: repowering an existing fossil site means the grid connection, cooling water rights, and trained local labor pool are already in place, compressing both timelines and costs compared to greenfield nuclear development.

The XE-100 itself is purpose-built for exactly this kind of modular rollout. The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design based on decades of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor operation, research, and development, designed to operate as a standard 320 MWe four-pack power plant or scaled in units of 80 MWe. The reactor is deployed as a four to twelve-unit plant, with each reactor capable of coming online independently upon completion, allowing end users to phase in capacity one unit at a time, aligning new generation with demand growth. The Xe-100 uses tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel, which has additional safety benefits because it can withstand very high temperatures without melting. And the design's reach extends beyond the grid: at 200 MWt of 565°C steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications, including mining and heavy industry.

X-energy Chief Commercial Officer Dinkar Bhatia framed the partnership in direct terms. "Our agreement with Talen is an important step forward to strengthen baseload capacity and meet growing energy demands in the PJM market," Bhatia said. "Our small modular reactor technology is uniquely suited to meet these demand opportunities reliably and safely, with the scalability and flexibility to deploy across a range of project sites."

Talen President Terry Nutt pointed to nuclear's broader strategic value. "Talen believes that future power demand needs an all-of-the-above supply approach, and this includes new nuclear technology. Commercial nuclear energy is a proven carbon-free energy source that provides for energy independence and diversification," Nutt said.

The LOI also arrives at a pivotal moment for X-energy's corporate trajectory. The Talen partnership comes as X-energy prepares for a proposed initial public offering in the U.S., with the company having filed a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission; it intends to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq global select market, though the number of shares and price range have not yet been determined. Meanwhile, X-energy is currently developing more than 11 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity across commercial partnerships in the United States and United Kingdom.

No sites have been named and no construction timeline has been set; this is still the feasibility phase. But with Talen's existing PJM footprint, a fossil fleet ripe for transition, and X-energy's XE-100 already advancing through NRC review for its first industrial deployment in Texas, the Pennsylvania pipeline is as credible a near-term SMR buildout as any in the country.