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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

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The Iran war is a stark reminder of the importance of domestic energy supply, X-energy CEO Clay Sell told Axios Pro on Thursday. 

Why it matters: The conflict has sent energy stocks up in recent weeks, priming the market for energy IPOs.

Driving the news: X-energy, which makes advanced nuclear reactors and fuel, plans to start trading Friday after pricing at $23 per share Thursday night, a major boost to its planned range of $16-$19.

The Rockville, Maryland-based company raised $1.02 billion and hit a market cap of $9.1 billion.

Catch up quick: X-energy makes high-temperature, gas-cooled modular reactors, and the fuel needed, and counts Dow, Amazon and Centrica among its customers. 

What they're saying: The Iran conflict "is a very healthy reminder of the value of a secure domestic industry from which we will power our own economy and export these products abroad," said Sell.

Behind the scenes: Energy companies riding the wave of data center power demand have been eying the public markets this year.

The Iran conflict is providing renewed investor interest and a sense of urgency, say investors.

Zoom in: Sell also praised the Trump administration's work reforming nuclear regulation and providing capital to the sector.

"This is an extraordinary period of government support, and it will be seen as transformative in the years to come," Sell said. 

The bottom: Hyperscaler electricity demand, investor interest and government support are leading to a new era for nuclear in the U.S. 

X-energy CEO chats about IPO market

The advanced nuclear company is valued at over $9 billion.

Illustration of a nuclear power symbol combined with a restart symbol

The Iran war is a stark reminder of the importance of domestic energy supply, X-energy CEO Clay Sell told Axios Pro on Thursday. Why it matters: The conflict has sent energy stocks up in recent weeks, priming the market for <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="energy IPOs" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2026/01/22/energy-ipo-window-open" data-vars-content-id="48347c0e-59b4-43b3-a811-c3cd2b1b15a3" data-vars-headline="X-energy CEO chats about IPO market" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2026/01/22/energy-ipo-window-open" target="_self">energy IPOs</a>.

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X-energy CEO chats about IPO market

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