X-energy started trading on Nasdaq today under the ticker XE, marking the most significant nuclear energy IPO to date.
Based in Rockville, Maryland, X-energy raised $1.02 billion by selling 44.3 million Class A shares at $23 each. This price is 21% higher than the top of its marketed range of $16 to $19, and well above its original $800 million target. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, and Moelis & Company led the offering. ARK Investment Management expressed interest in buying up to $105 million in shares at the IPO price.
When X-energy filed its S-1 in March and began its roadshow with an $814 million target, TFN reported that the company had already raised $1.8 billion in private capital and had a strong commercial pipeline as it entered public markets.
X-energy’s main product is the Xe-100, an 80-megawatt high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that uses helium and pebbles filled with TRISO fuel pellets. The design is considered safe because the nuclear reaction slows down if temperatures go up.
The reactor is modular, so it can be manufactured at scale and installed in standard units rather than custom-built on site. X-energy also makes its own TRISO-X fuel, which gives it greater control over its supply chain than competitors who rely on external fuel sources.
TFN reported in November that X-energy closed an oversubscribed $700 million Series D round led by Jane Street. The company already has 144 reactors on order as part of an 11-gigawatt pipeline.
Money from the IPO will go toward developing reactors, scaling up fuel production, and commercialising the technology. The first commercial reactors are expected in the early 2030s.
