The company designing the small modular nuclear reactors planned near Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station has signed a contract that will provide components for the state-of-the-art facility. 

The 10-year deal between X-energy and SGL Carbon LLC includes an initial award of $100 million over three years to begin production of graphite reactor components using SGL’s specialized NGB-18 medium-grain isotropic graphite, according to a release. While those are bound for X-energy’s first SMR facility in Texas, the company has reserved additional capacity in SGL’s production schedule for the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility outside Richland. 

“Scaling new nuclear requires partners who know how to execute and have done so time and again in the world’s most demanding industries,” said J. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy, in a statement. “SGL brings decades of innovation in aerospace, automotive, energy, and semiconductor applications, and we are thrilled to bring that depth of experience into the new nuclear sector.” 

The Cascade SMR project, a joint venture of Energy Northwest, Amazon and X-energy, was announced in late 2024. The initial project calls for construction of four of X-energy’s Xe-100 SMRs, capable of generating 320 megawatts of power, which Amazon will have claim to. Renderings released by Amazon several months ago show what the facility would look like at full build-out and generating 960 megawatts that would contribute to the region’s power grid. 

Construction is anticipated to begin in the next five years. Energy Northwest has also named Cascade Nuclear Partners – a joint venture made up of Black & Veatch, Aecon and Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co. – as the builder for the project.