NuScale and ENTRA1 Expect $25 Billion from US/ Japan Trade Deal

TerraPower Submits Natrium Reactorfor GDA in UK

Hyundai E&C Signs on as EPC for FERMI America

Joint Venture EPC to Deliver Cascade SMR facility at Energy Northwest

The funding will support deployment of a fleet of power plants to provide electricity for AI data centers, manufacturing and national defense.

NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR), and its exclusive global strategic partner, ENTRA1 Energy, are positioned to receive up to $25 billion in investment capital under the newly signed $550 billion U.S.-Japan Framework Agreement.

The bilateral framework agreement will mobilize up to $550 billion in public- and private-sector investment to expand critical energy infrastructure and strengthen supply chains.

The actual mechanism for ENTRA1 and NuScale to be recipients of the funding was not described in press statements about the Japanese trade deal.

As part of this initiative, ENTRA1 Energy will develop a fleet of power plants utilizing baseload energy sources. The program will serve fast-growing energy demand from AI data centers, manufacturing and national defense.

The announcement follows ENTRA1’s recently announced landmark agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to develop up to six gigawatts of new clean baseload power using NuScale’s SMR technology. Together, these initiatives highlight the growing role of advanced nuclear in supporting U.S. reindustrialization, energy security and decarbonization.

NuScale will provide its 77 MW small modular reactors in arrays of six (462 MW) or 12 units (924 MW). The NuScale SMR is based on light water reactors design principles and use low enriched uranium fuel at less than 5% U235. The NuScale SMR is the first and only SMR to have its designs certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

NuScale and ENTRA1 Energy have a global strategic partnership. ENTRA1 Energy is NuScale’s exclusive global strategic partner for commercializing and developing NuScale SMRs. ENTRA1 Energy is the one-stop-shop and single hub for the deployment, financing, investment, development, execution, and/or management of ENTRA1 Energy Plants with NuScale SMRs inside.

ENTRA1 Energy is focused on producing and selling power by commercializing and deploying American nuclear and natural gas technologies in its power infrastructure assets. ENTRA1 Energy is NuScale’s exclusive global strategic partner commercializing the NuScale SMR Technology. Through this partnership, ENTRA1 develops, finances, owns and operates energy production plants powered by the NuScale SMR Technology.

Funding for Other US Nuclear Firms in Japanese Trade Deal

The Japanese Ministry of Finance published on their website a Joint Fact Sheet (PDF file) list of some of the firms which are candidates for funding under the trade deal with the US that was announced this week.

Note that the amounts listed for some of the nuclear elements of the deal include a caveat of “up to” for the amounts rather than a firm commitmernt of funding for a specific amount.
Separately, a White House fact sheet provides a more comprehensive list but with less detail.

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TerraPower Submits Natrium Reactorfor GDA in UK

TerraPower has entered the Natrium reactor design for review and approval under the Generic Design Assessment process managed by the UK Office of Nuclear Regulation. The multi-phase project can take up to four years to complete.

TerraPower announced the official submission of the Natrium reactor and energy storage system into the United Kingdom’s Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. This is the company’s first regulatory step to deploying the Natrium technology in an international market.

“This submission marks a substantial step towards bringing the revolutionary Natrium reactor and energy storage system to the United Kingdom,” said Chris Levesque, TerraPower President and CEO.

“TerraPower is committed to delivering Natrium units across the globe, and our industry-leading regulatory team is setting the standard on how to license and deploy advanced nuclear technologies.”

In its press statement TerraPower said it recently completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The UK’s GDA process will build on the company’s experience and efforts; and allow for TerraPower to establish deployment timelines for Natrium sites in the country.

The Natrium technology features a 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MWe for more than five and a half hours when needed. This innovative addition allows a Natrium plant to integrate seamlessly with renewable resources and leads to faster, more cost-effective decarbonization of the electric grid while producing dispatchable carbon-free energy.

TerraPower and KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced earlier this fall their efforts to identify sites for the Natrium reactor in the UK. As the UK strategizes how to best meet growing energy demand, innovative solutions like TerraPower’s Natrium technology with clean, baseload power plus gigawatt-scale energy storage will be needed to achieve both a decarbonized and a reliable electric grid.

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Hyundai E&C Signs on as EPC for FERMI America

Hyundai Engineering & Construction signed a front-end engineering design contract on Friday with Fermi America to build four large-scale nuclear power plants in the United States. This marks the first time a Korean company has been awarded a contract to design and construct large-scale nuclear power plants in the country.

Under the contract, Hyundai E&C will carry out preliminary design work, including site layout development, cooling system reviews, and cost and schedule estimation, marking the first phase of construction.

Fermi America, a private US energy developer, is leading a $500 billion project near Amarillo, Texas, to create the world’s largest private power grid supporting next-generation artificial intelligence infrastructure.

“We expect to create strong synergy with Fermi America, a fast-growing company that listed on the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange in October, just nine months after its founding,” a Hyundai E&C official said.

“Building on the close energy partnership between Korea and the US, we will seek concrete ways to enhance cooperation in the US nuclear power plant market.”

The project covers about 5,200 acres and will generate 11 GW of independent power capacity. It will combine four AP1000 large-scale nuclear reactors, plus small modular reactors for additional power generation, a gas-fired combined cycle power plant, solar power facilities, and a battery energy storage system. An AI data center will also be built to connect and utilize the generated power.

The company signed a business agreement with Fermi America in July and has since engaged in detailed discussions on hybrid energy planning, nuclear system design, and overall engineering, procurement and construction strategy.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing the project’s integrated permit. Hyundai E&C and Fermi America plan to move forward with detailed engineering and construction preparation in parallel, with the aim of signing a full EPC contract in the first half of 2026.

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Joint Venture EPC to Deliver Cascade SMR facility at Energy Northwest

(WNN) Energy Northwest has selected a joint venture of Aecon, Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co and Black & Veatch to design and build the first phase of the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility near Richland, Washington.

The public power agency said it is in negotiations with the Cascade Nuclear Partners joint venture to collaboratively complete the planning, design, and construction of the first four out of 12 Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) under a progressive design-build (PDB) model. This development phase will help define the project’s scope, schedule, and cost parameters before advancing to full execution.

Last year Energy Northwest announced a multi-year agreement with Amazon focused on comprehensive environmental, safety, permitting, licensing and risk analyses for the SMR project. Amazon funded the initial feasibility phase for a plant to be sited near Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station nuclear energy facility in Richland after which it expects to submit a construction permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Construction is anticipated to begin by the end of the decade, with operations targeted for the 2030s.

X-energy’s small modular reactor plant will feature X-energy’s Xe-100, a Generation IV advanced high temperature gas-cooled reactor design using tri-structural isotropic – or TRISO – particle fuel.

Energy Northwest CEO Bob Schuetz said the selection of Cascade Nuclear Partners is a “strategic milestone” which reflects the continued momentum for the project.

“Their specialized knowledge in nuclear construction, collaborative approach, and strong alignment with Energy Northwest’s values gives us confidence in their ability to help deliver this critical project successfully.”

In October 2024 Amazon committed $500M to build the first four of a planned 12 Xe-100 SMRs at the Columbia Generating station. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin, affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, NGP, and the University of Michigan, will invest approximately $500 million in Series C-1 financing round for X-energy.

X-energy and Amazon plan to establish and standardize a deployment and financing model to develop projects in partnership with infrastructure and utility partners. The investment includes manufacturing capacity to develop the SMR equipment to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear energy projects utilizing X-energy’s technology.

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