A new MoU cements Fermi America–Hyundai E&C’s plan to build four AP1000 reactors for the HyperGrid campus, powering AI workloads.
Fermi America has enlisted South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction to design and build the nuclear heart of a vast private power grid aimed squarely at fueling next-generation artificial-intelligence workloads in Texas.
Under a newly signed memorandum of understanding , the companies will collaborate on every phase of the nuclear component, planning, front-end engineering design, and ultimately an engineering, procurement, and construction contract, for what Fermi America calls its “HyperGrid” campus near Amarillo.The behind-the-meter project, developed in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, is billed as the first campus to weave together America’s largest private nuclear power complex, the nation’s biggest combined-cycle natural-gas facility, plus grid power, solar arrays, and battery storage. According to World Nuclear News, Geotechnical work is already underway, and Fermi America says the campus will deliver one gigawatt of online power by the end of 2026, energy consumed almost entirely by on-site AI data centers rather than the public grid.Four AP1000 reactors on the drawing boardMomentum for the project accelerated on June 17, when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted Fermi America’s Combined Operating License Application to build four Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized-water reactors, a review green-lighted in what the company describes as record time. Construction of the nuclear island is slated to begin next year, with the first reactor targeted for commercial operation in 2032.The MoU commits both firms to produce detailed work packages for each development stage and lock in an EPC agreement before year-end. “We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with the team at Hyundai E&C to power the future of AI,” said Fermi America co-founder Toby Neugebauer.“America doesn’t have time to practice – we need to work with proven partners like Hyundai, who have a successful track record of planning and building safe, clean, new nuclear energy.”Hyundai eyes larger U.S. energy footprintFor Hyundai E&C, the deal represents a strategic foothold in a U.S. market poised for renewed nuclear growth. “This agreement is significant in that it allows us to participate in the project from its early stages and contribute to creating the world’s largest integrated energy and artificial intelligence campus with various energy infrastructures,” a Hyundai E&C spokesperson said. “Using this as an important starting point, we will proactively secure various new energy business opportunities in the US and global markets, and continue to strengthen our competitiveness.”The MoU gives the Seoul-based builder a front-row role in shaping a hybrid energy system that blends baseload nuclear power with flexible natural-gas turbines and intermittent renewables, an architecture increasingly favored by industrial customers with round-the-clock electricity needs.Surging power demand puts nuclear power back into focusFermi America’s wager on nuclear comes amid a structural shift in U.S. electricity demand. According to a McKinsey 2025 energy study, reindustrialization, AI-driven data-center growth, and mass electrification have reversed nearly two decades of flat demand, pushing annual load growth above 3 percent through 2040. The consultancy warns that keeping pace will require both “grid-enhancing technologies” and the “scaling commercial nuclear generation.” By combining on-site generation with direct consumption, the HyperGrid model sidesteps many of the transmission bottlenecks that slow conventional projects while giving data-center operators a hedge against volatile wholesale prices and potential carbon constraints.With the MoU in place, Fermi America and Hyundai E&C engineering teams will now refine the front-end design and firm up cost and schedule projections. Should the partners stay on track, the Amarillo complex could offer a template for pairing advanced nuclear reactors with high-density AI computing, which may become common as power needs soar.
Energy &Amp Environment Fermi America Hypergrid Hyundai Nuclear Nuclear Reactor Pressurized-Water Reactors Private Nuclear US
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