--- title: "AEP and Amazon-backed X-energy agreed only to study a 960-megawatt nuclear site; the lockup lifts this week" description: "AEP and X-energy agreed only to evaluate 960 MW at a retired Indiana coal site; Amazon's funding is milestone-based and its power purchase an intention. The 180-day IPO lock-up on XE expires this week, with roughly 348 million restricted share-equivalents behind the 44 million shares that trade." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Energy" published: 2026-10-19T19:21:23.029Z modified: 2026-10-19T19:21:23.029Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/aep-and-amazon-backed-x-energy-agreed-only-to-study-a-960-megawatt-nuclear-site-the-lockup-lifts-this-week language: en keywords: "Nuclear, SMRs, Amazon, Utilities, Stocks" --- # AEP and Amazon-backed X-energy agreed only to study a 960-megawatt nuclear site; the lockup lifts this week > AEP and X-energy agreed only to evaluate 960 MW at a retired Indiana coal site; Amazon's funding is milestone-based and its power purchase an intention. The 180-day IPO lock-up on XE expires this week, with roughly 348 million restricted share-equivalents behind the 44 million shares that trade. ## A one-percent morning for a gigawatt headline This morning [American Electric Power](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/american-electric-power) (Nasdaq: AEP), the Ohio-based utility, and [X-energy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/x-energy) (Nasdaq: XE), the [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon)-backed small-reactor developer, [announced a joint development agreement](https://www.aep.com/news/stories/view/12330/) to evaluate 12 of X-energy's 80-megawatt Xe-100 reactors at the retired Breed coal plant in Sullivan County, Indiana: 960 megawatts in all [1][5]. The morning's coverage [asked why the stock was surging](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/why-is-x-energy-stock-surging-today-93CH-4957528) [2]. It was not: XE rose about 1% from Friday's $10.36 close [2][9]. ## What the signatures actually commit The agreement covers the feasibility of construction, and AEP says nothing is built unless the project clears a final investment decision [1]. Amazon "intends" to [purchase the power under a long-term contract](https://www.powermag.com/aep-x-energy-eye-960-mw-nuclear-plant-at-retired-indiana-coal-site-backed-by-amazon/), its development funding is milestone-based, and the parties disclosed no capital cost, contract price or term, ownership structure or date for that decision [3]. It is the second project in the Amazon and X-energy program targeting more than 5 gigawatts of U.S. nuclear by 2039, after the Cascade facility with Energy Northwest, a Washington state utility [3][4]. ## Eight shares behind the lock for every one trading [The April prospectus](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2088896/000110465926049515/tm2527015-22_424b4.htm) carries the arithmetic. XE priced at $23 on April 23, selling 44,254,659 Class A shares; on completion it had 273.4 million Class A shares outstanding plus 118.9 million Class B shares paired with units redeemable one-for-one [7]. Only those 44 million IPO shares trade, and nearly eight restricted share-equivalents sit behind the 180-day lock-up for every one of them [7]. The lock-up ends this week. Amazon's holding company owns 65.8 million of those units, 27.8% of the pre-IPO common units, making it lead investor, development funder and intended customer at one table [4][7]. ## Down 72%, with 17.5% of the float sold short Friday's close sits about 72% below the $37.10 peak and about 3% above the $10.07 all-time low, with [17.5% of the float sold short](https://www.ainvest.com/news/energy-tests-post-ipo-floor-10-chart-runs-support-2610/) and the brokerage Piper Sandler carrying a $9 target [6]. *Chart: **XE's round trip: $23 IPO, $37.10 peak, and a $10.36 close a step off its low** Bar chart of four XE share price landmarks: $23 IPO price, $37.10 all-time high, $10.36 Friday close and $10.07 post-IPO low, showing the close sitting just above the low* *Per-share prices in USD. IPO price per the April 2026 prospectus; peak, low and close per Ainvest data and StockTitan. Friday close is October 16, 2026. [6][7][9]* *Chart: **Almost eight XE shares sit behind the lock-up for every one trading** Bar chart of XE share register: 229.2 million pre-IPO Class A shares and 118.9 million units redeemable into Class A, both locked, against 44.25 million IPO shares trading* *Class A-equivalent shares in millions, per X-Energy's April 2026 IPO prospectus. Pre-IPO Class A is 273.4 million outstanding minus the 44.25 million sold in the offering. [7]* ## The long case is real, and still marked down 72% The long case has substance. The chemicals group Dow's Seadrift site in Texas, the first planned U.S. deployment, is in the final stage of Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of its construction permit [3]. X-energy [held $1.9 billion of liquidity with no debt at mid-year](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/XE/), against [a pipeline of about 11.5 gigawatts](https://theinference.org/article/x-energy-s-fuel-plant-feeds-11-reactors-its-order-book-runs-to-144) [9]. First power targets the early 2030s, and operating cash flow ran about negative $253 million over the trailing twelve months [6]. Strip $1.1 billion of cash from the $4.2 billion market cap and the reactor business is priced near $3.2 billion [6]; the whole company was valued at $11.9 billion at its April listing and sits near $4.1 billion now [8]. ## Three dates decide it Three dates settle it: the lock-up lift against the $10.07 floor, the Seadrift permit decision expected in early 2027, and third-quarter results in mid-November [6]. Today's release commits none of the Indiana plant's power; it buys feasibility work, and it lands in the last days before pre-IPO holders can sell. ## Takeaway The AEP-X-energy agreement buys feasibility work, not power: no price, no offtake contract and no investment-decision date, and it lands days before the 180-day IPO lock-up lifts on roughly 348 million XE share-equivalents. ## Sources 1. [American Electric Power, "AEP Partners with Amazon and X-energy to Explore Advanced Nuclear Energy in Indiana," 19 October 2026](https://www.aep.com/news/stories/view/12330/) 2. [Investing.com, "Why is X Energy stock surging today?", 19 October 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/why-is-x-energy-stock-surging-today-93CH-4957528) 3. [POWER Magazine, "AEP, X-energy Eye 960-MW Nuclear Plant at Retired Indiana Coal Site, Backed by Amazon," 19 October 2026](https://www.powermag.com/aep-x-energy-eye-960-mw-nuclear-plant-at-retired-indiana-coal-site-backed-by-amazon/) 4. [Amazon, "Amazon invests in nuclear energy project targeting nearly 1 gigawatt of carbon-free energy for Indiana," 19 October 2026](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-nuclear-energy-indiana-x-energy-aep) 5. [StockTitan, "AEP Partners with Amazon and X-energy to Explore Advanced Nuclear Energy in Indiana," 19 October 2026](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/XE/aep-partners-with-amazon-and-x-energy-to-explore-advanced-nuclear-mxbpni218ifm.html) 6. [Ainvest, "X-Energy Tests Its Post-IPO Floor Near $10 - Below It, the Chart Runs Out of Support," October 2026](https://www.ainvest.com/news/energy-tests-post-ipo-floor-10-chart-runs-support-2610/) 7. [X-Energy, Inc., Form 424B4 IPO prospectus, SEC EDGAR, dated 23 April 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2088896/000110465926049515/tm2527015-22_424b4.htm) 8. [DatacenterDynamics, "Amazon and AEP to explore deployment of up to 960MW of X-energy SMRs in Indiana," 19 October 2026](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/amazon-and-aep-to-explore-deployment-of-up-to-960mw-of-x-energy-smrs-in-indiana/) 9. [StockTitan, X-Energy (XE) stock news and Q2 2026 results feed, accessed 19 October 2026](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/XE/) --- AEP and Amazon-backed X-energy agreed only to study a 960-megawatt nuclear site; the lockup lifts this week — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/aep-and-amazon-backed-x-energy-agreed-only-to-study-a-960-megawatt-nuclear-site-the-lockup-lifts-this-week