Fermi America looks to go public as NRC accepts COLA for AP1000s
Texas Tech University and Fermi America are now one step closer to realizing their massive vision for the Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Amarillo, Texas, as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted the first two parts of its combined license application (COLA) for four Westinghouse AP1000s.
Fermi America currently plans to deploy its first AP1000 in 2032, with the next three coming in 2034, 2035, and 2036, respectively. That ambitious timeline will depend on many things going right for the company, from speedy regulatory approval to significant funding.
On the funding front, the company filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering on Friday, September 5.
More details: Fermi America’s registration statement with the SEC provides a wealth of new information and updates on the company’s plans. Aside from reaffirming its timetable for reactor deployment, the statement also emphasizes the company’s current focus on procuring long-lead-time equipment and its plans to rely on the highly experienced workforce at the nearby Pantex nuclear weapons plant, which is also in Amarillo.
Its COLA lists Fermi America as the sole constructor and operator of the proposed nuclear plant, which it has dubbed the Donald J. Trump Generating Plant. If the project is built, it will become the second largest nuclear power plant in the country.
Project Matador (another name Fermi America has given to the campus) is “designed to include approximately 6.0 GW of nuclear capacity across two nuclear islands,” the company said. It expects the final 2 GW to come from small modular reactors. While Fermi America has yet to select a supplier, it signed a memorandum of understanding in August with South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility to evaluate potential SMR options.
Between nuclear, natural gas, and solar, the company plans to have 10,718 MWe of behind-the meter energy to support “up to 15 million square feet of AI-ready hyperscale compute infrastructure by 2038,” according to the SEC filing. Fermi America expects to have 1 GW of nonnuclear power on line by the end of 2026.
The company plans to list its common stock under “FRMI” on the Nasdaq. UBS Investment Bank, Cantor, and Mizuho have been selected as joint lead book running managers, according to the press release.
POTUS-aligned: Aside from naming its plant after President Trump, much of Fermi America’s communications have involved messaging promoting the Trump administration’s pronuclear stance. This newest filing maintains that messaging, saying, “We believe the Trump administration’s renewed focus on expedited permitting and the expansion of nuclear infrastructure in the United States presents a favorable backdrop for Fermi to replicate its business model to support key national strategic priorities focused on winning the AI race and developing nuclear power.”
Back to the NRC: While it’s good news for Fermi America, the NRC’s acceptance of this COLA also represents a significant milestone for the broader industry—it’s the first application the regulator has received for a gigawatt-scale light water reactor since 2009.
The next regulatory step for Fermi America will be the submission of the site-specific information needed for part three of the COLA. The NRC’s schedule sets February 28, 2026, as the deadline for an environmental impact statement and December 31, 2026, for the final submission.
