Plans by Centrica (LSE:CAN) and X-Energy (NASDAQ:XE) to deploy Xe-100 nuclear reactors in Britain have reached the regulatory assessment stage after the reactor design was accepted into the UK’s Generic Design Assessment.
The process is expected to last around three years and will assess the Xe-100 design before any site-specific licensing and permitting.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation, Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales will administer the assessment.
Hartlepool Proposed for First UK Development
The regulatory milestone follows a partnership signed by Centrica and X-energy in September 2025 under which the companies intend to develop as much as 6 GW of new nuclear generating capacity across the UK.
Depending on the size and configuration of individual developments, the companies estimate the programme could comprise between 10 and 20 Xe-100 power stations.
Hartlepool is the proposed location for the first development. Work undertaken since the partnership was announced includes site assessments, planning activities and workforce initiatives.
A Nuclear and Electrical Trades Academy has also been launched as part of the companies’ activities in the area.
Regulatory Cooperation Could Support Assessment
The Xe-100 uses high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology and is designed to supply either electricity or industrial heat.
An individual reactor is engineered for 80 MW of electrical output or 200 MW of thermal heat. Multiple units can be combined into plants with planned generating capacities ranging from 320 MW to 960 MW.
Centrica and X-energy said cooperation between UK authorities and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to allow reviewed technical documentation and safety analyses to be shared between the regulatory systems.
Acceptance into the GDA does not itself provide approval for construction at Hartlepool, with site-specific licensing and permitting required separately.
Xe-100 Projects Also Progressing in United States
Alongside its UK programme, X-energy is advancing the first planned Xe-100 installation with Dow Inc. on the Texas Gulf Coast.
A further project is being developed with Energy Northwest in collaboration with Amazon.
Michael Shanks, the UK’s Minister of State for Energy, called the latest development “another important step towards bringing advanced nuclear technologies to the UK”.
Shanks said the projects could provide “clean, secure and homegrown energy” and bring investment and employment to Hartlepool.
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