Policy · Energy (nuclear and gas power)
Second batch of Japan-funded US projects, up to $73 billion, centers on Hitachi-GE small reactors
- From
- Government of Japan (Tokyo)
- Covers
- US Department of Commerce, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Texas
- Value
- Up to $73B
- Status
- Announced at the Trump-Takaichi summit. The two gas projects reached definitive agreements and first financing in August 2026; the reactor sites have not been named.
- Date
- 2026-03-19
Timed to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's White House visit, the two governments announced a second batch of projects under Japan's $550 billion pledge. It includes up to $40 billion for small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama built by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, plus gas-fired power plants in Pennsylvania (up to $17 billion) and Texas (up to $16 billion). Part of the gas output is meant to power co-located data centers.
Why it matters
Including a Hitachi joint venture gives a Japanese company a direct industrial role in the program, not just financing. With the first batch, announced commitments reach about $109 billion, roughly a fifth of the pledge, and remain heavily tilted toward power for AI.
What was agreed
The US Commerce Department announced the three projects on March 19, 2026, the day of the White House meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Takaichi. Japanese media put the combined amount of up to $73 billion at roughly ¥11.5 trillion. It is about double the first batch of about $36 billion announced in February.
The nuclear project covers GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300, a 300-megawatt boiling water reactor, at sites in Tennessee and Alabama that were not named, for total capacity of about 3 gigawatts. Hitachi is a minority partner in the joint venture with GE Vernova. In Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority has already applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a BWRX-300 at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, but the March announcement did not tie the program to that project. No timetable for operation was given.
The gas projects
Both gas plants are being developed by NextEra Energy. The Pennsylvania project, known as South Mon, is a 4.3-gigawatt plant in the southwest of the state that will sell into the PJM market and draw on Marcellus and Utica shale gas. The Texas project, Project Anderson in Anderson County, is planned at 5.2 gigawatts for the ERCOT market and is meant to serve a potential large industrial customer.
On August 12, 2026, NextEra said it had signed definitive agreements with the Commerce Department and the Japanese government for the two projects, totaling up to 10 gigawatts, and reached a first funding milestone of $3.3 billion. The money goes to down payments on long-lead equipment such as turbines and to hiring engineering and construction contractors. NextEra expects first power as early as late 2028 and full completion in 2032, subject to permits and regulatory approvals.
How the money flows
Under the September 2025 memorandum, projects are chosen by an investment committee chaired by the US commerce secretary, and each one is placed in a special purpose vehicle. Japan's financing is led by the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), mostly through loans and guarantees rather than equity. Proceeds are shared until Japan recovers its outlay, after which the US side receives 90%.
What to watch
The SMR sites, ownership structure and reactor count have not been disclosed, and no BWRX-300 is yet running on the US grid. The gas projects have moved to definitive agreements, but they still need permits.
Sources
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