Key Points
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X-Energy recently filed a prospectus for an IPO.
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The company designs and builds small modular nuclear reactors.
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It has some major backers, including Amazon and Dow.
Shares of nuclear power company X-Energy aren’t available yet. Still, the company recently filed a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO) under the NASDAQ ticker XE.
The renewable energy company’s shares could go radioactive, making investors millions, or they could bust, as the company presents a strong risk-reward ratio.
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On the negative side, XE Energy lost money last year, and as a private company, there isn’t much information yet about its finances. On the positive side, its IPO prospectus states that the market for small modular reactors (SMRs) could be worth $2.3 trillion by 2050.
Here are three reasons why X-Energy could be a millionaire-maker stock.
Image of an atomic symbol.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. It has some big-time partners and customers
X-energy has attracted funding from Amazon, Dow, the Climate Pledge Fund, Segra Capital Management, Jane Street, and Ares Management. The first two are the most important because they are customers for the company’s nuclear SMRs.
The company is working with Dow in Texas to build a four-SMR-unit plant under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration program. It also has at least 5 GW of projects that it plans to do with Amazon by 2039, and it has a commitment from British energy and services company Centrica for 6GW of SMRs.
2. Its SMR design has some inherent advantages
The primary driver for owning X-Energy is its proprietary Xe-100 reactor technology. Unlike the light-water reactors that dominate the current grid, the Xe-100 is a high-temperature helium-cooled reactor designed for more than just electricity. While the HTR-PM helium-cooled reactor is already operating in China, the Xe-100 is still awaiting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the U.S.
According to X-Energy, the Xe-100 produces high-temperature steam that can directly decarbonize heavy industrial processes, such as chemical manufacturing and hydrogen production.
According to X-Energy, the Xe-100 is also considered safer than other designs because it relies on nature rather than machinery or human intervention to prevent a meltdown. The reactor’s physics act like an automatic brake. If it gets too hot, the nuclear reaction naturally slows and stops on its own. Because the reactor doesn’t produce an overwhelming amount of heat in one small spot, X-Energy says that leftover heat simply drifts away into the air. It doesn’t need extra water or pumps to stay cool.
The energy company’s business model also benefits from its own TRISO-X fuel. According to X-Energy, each grain of uranium is enveloped by layers of ceramic that the company says is designed to prevent the release of radioactive materials even under extreme temperatures. By controlling its SMR’s fuel supply, X-Energy creates a recurring revenue stream that would continue for the 40-to-60-year lifespan of the SMRs it sells.
3. Looking into the future
IPOs can create millionaires, but because most companies that go public are in their early stages and rarely profitable, there are significant risks. There are plenty of competitors lining up in the SMR space, and if a better design emerges, X-Energy’s profits and share price would likely suffer. However, the company is well-financed and may be better suited to thrive than other small SMR companies.
While the risks of regulatory delays and capital intensity remain, the combination of a diversified industrial client base, a proprietary fuel monopoly, and elite tech partnerships makes X-Energy a compelling candidate for a growth-oriented portfolio.
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James Halley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
