Policy · Energy and industrial
US and Japan name first three projects, worth $36 billion, under the $550 billion investment pledge
- From
- Government of Japan (JBIC, NEXI) (Tokyo)
- Covers
- US Department of Commerce, Ohio, Texas and Georgia
- Value
- $36B
- Status
- Approved by President Trump. JBIC-led loans for all three projects were signed by May 2026, and the Ohio gas project's financing was enlarged in September 2026.
- Date
- 2026-02-17
President Trump approved the first projects to be funded under Japan's $550 billion investment commitment: a 9.2-gigawatt gas-fired power complex in Ohio (about $33 billion), a deepwater crude export terminal off Texas (about $2.1 billion) and a synthetic industrial diamond plant (about $600 million). Media reports tied the Ohio project to SoftBank's SB Energy, the Texas terminal to Sentinel Midstream and the diamond plant to De Beers unit Element Six in Georgia. Financing is expected to combine equity, JBIC loans and NEXI guarantees.
Why it matters
These are the first concrete projects since the July 2025 tariff deal cut US duties on Japanese goods to 15%, turning the $550 billion headline into actual deals. The focus on gas power for AI data centers shows where Washington wants Japanese capital to go.
What was agreed
The three projects were announced on February 17, 2026 (US Eastern time) and confirmed by both governments the next day under the Strategic Investment Initiative. The Japanese government put the gas power project at about $33.3 billion, the crude export infrastructure at about $2.1 billion and the synthetic diamond plant at about $600 million.
Under the framework's terms, profits are split evenly until Japan recovers its investment, after which 90% goes to the United States. The Hudson Institute notes that the US sets up a special purpose vehicle for each investment, governed by the US or its designees.
The projects and Japanese companies
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the 9.2-gigawatt plant near Portsmouth, Ohio, would be the largest gas-fired generating facility ever built. The Japanese government listed Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and SoftBank Group among companies interested in supplying equipment or services, and Jiji reported at least 16 Japanese companies had shown interest in taking part.
The crude project is the Texas GulfLink deepwater export terminal developed by Sentinel Midstream; Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Steel and JFE Steel were named as interested suppliers. For the Georgia diamond grit plant, operated by Element Six, Japanese tool makers such as Asahi Diamond Industrial and Noritake were named as potential buyers of the output. Lutnick said it would bring all US demand for synthetic diamond grit onshore; the US has relied largely on China. No site in Georgia had been named at announcement.
How the money flows
On April 17, 2026, JBIC signed a loan of about $630 million to Japan Invest 3 LLC, a US company in which JBIC holds equity, for the Ohio gas project. Including MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank, co-financing totaled about $1.885 billion, with NEXI insuring the private banks' share. JBIC said on May 1 that loans for all three first-round projects totaled about $2.2 billion.
On September 25, 2026, JBIC raised its loan limit to Japan Invest 3 to about $1.976 billion, lifting total co-financing for the Ohio project to about $5.917 billion.
What happened next
A second round was announced on March 19, 2026. In August 2026 JBIC announced financing for gas-fired power projects in Pennsylvania and Texas, with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase joining a roughly $4.61 billion co-financing for the second-round projects. Federal statements on the Ohio plant had not given its fuel supply, grid connection, permitting or construction schedule.
Sources
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