X-energy, the Amazon-backed nuclear startup looking to deploy high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, has taken a major step toward securing federal permits to start construction on its first plant.

On Monday, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the key environmental review for X-energy’s first project, which according to the construction permit application would see it build four of its 80-MW Xe-100 reactors at chemical giant Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations, on Texas’ Gulf Coast.

The NRC said if approved, the construction permit would authorise building the facility but not its operation. The company would need to submit a separate application for operating licences.

The Texas project, known as Long Mott, would provide both electricity and high-temperature industrial steam to Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations. Once complete, the Long Mott generating station is expected to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.