Amazon (AMZN) shares surged 4.98% to $262.45 on Monday after the company announced a major nuclear energy project, unveiling plans to fund a 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana. The stock gained $12.45 during the session, and the agreement expands Amazon's nuclear energy commitments as its data center operations drive growing electricity needs.

Amazon Stock Gains as Nuclear Energy Expansion Accelerates

Amazon shares climbed throughout Monday morning before stabilizing near $262.45 during the afternoon trading session. The stock maintained most of gains despite minor price fluctuations following the sharp morning advance. The latest energy agreement adds another nuclear development project to the company's expanding power strategy.

Under the announced arrangement, Amazon will fund the proposed Indiana facility and become its first electricity customer. American Electric Power will operate the plant, while X-energy will provide 12 Xe-100 small modular nuclear reactors, rated at roughly 80 megawatts per unit. The companies plan to develop the facility south of Terre Haute on the site of a former coal plant, a choice that follows a common industry practice of siting new generation at retired fossil fuel locations, which often retain existing grid interconnections.

The agreement marks Amazon's second commercial project with X-energy and triples the capacity of their previous arrangement. Amazon previously led X-energy's $700 million Series C-1 funding round in October 2024. The two companies also aim to develop five gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity across the United States by 2039.

Indiana Nuclear Project Targets Electricity Demand

The proposed 960-megawatt facility will connect to the public electricity grid rather than supply Amazon exclusively. Amazon nevertheless expects the project to provide electricity for its data centers alongside other grid customers, an arrangement that supports its broader plans to secure energy supplies for its technology infrastructure. Because new nuclear capacity typically requires years of licensing and construction before delivering power, agreements of this kind represent longer-horizon responses to rising data center electricity demand rather than immediate capacity additions.

Development of the Indiana project also depends on X-energy's progress at its first planned nuclear facility in Texas. X-energy plans to install four Xe-100 reactors at Dow Chemical's Seadrift plant to supply heat and electricity. The company has not started construction, although federal regulators have advanced its construction permit review toward completion.

Texas authorities have sued Dow over alleged water and solid-waste regulatory violations at the Seadrift industrial complex. The legal dispute concerns the site's environmental compliance and adds background to X-energy's first planned deployment. The nuclear construction schedule remains subject to licensing requirements and to completion of the initial reactor project.

X-energy Shares React to Amazon Nuclear Agreement

X-energy entered public markets in April through a Nasdaq listing that priced its shares at $23. The stock gained 27% during its first trading session before declining substantially in subsequent months, and shares have since lost nearly two-thirds of their value from the initial public offering price.

Following Monday's announcement, X-energy shares initially advanced approximately 10% during premarket trading. The stock later reversed direction and traded less than 2% lower at the time of publication, a movement that followed news of the larger commercial agreement between the two companies.

Small modular reactor developers aim to reduce construction costs through standardized designs and repeated manufacturing processes. However, previous American nuclear projects experienced significant cost overruns and lengthy construction delays. Progress on construction and licensing at Seadrift will influence the timeline for subsequent projects, including the Indiana facility and the companies' broader capacity goals. Amazon's latest commitment expands its nuclear portfolio, while X-energy continues developing its first commercial reactor facility.

Source: Blockonomi — Amazon (AMZN) Stock: Surges 4.98% as Company Backs 960MW Nuclear Power Plant