“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week issued a permit for construction of four next-generation nuclear reactors at a petrochemical complex on the rural Gulf Coast of Texas.

The Long Mott Generating Station, developed by chemical giant Dow and nuclear startup X-energy, is one of two flagship projects selected by the U.S. Energy Department in 2020 for its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, intended to kickstart a new era of growth for the nation’s nascent nuclear sector…

Dow plans to install four 80-megawatt reactors by X-energy at its Seadrift Operations complex, on the Gulf Coast between Houston and Corpus Christi. The units won’t require the towering, concrete containment structures characteristic of existing nuclear reactors, nor the 10-mile emergency planning zone, thanks to what scientists describe as revolutionary safety features inherent in new reactor designs…

While typical nuclear reactors use water to cool, advanced designs use alternatives, from molten salt to gas. The Xe-100 uses helium gas. Rather than traditional fuel rods, the Xe-100 uses a pelletized fuel form in a moving bed of pebbles…

The innovations add up to a feature known as 'functional containment,' where the natural resilience and circulation of fuel pebbles prevents the kind of runaway warming that could lead the reactor to meltdown.”

From The Texas Tribune.