U.S. and Japan Commit Up to $40 Billion for SMR Construction in Southern States

GE Vernova Inc. and Hitachi Ltd. are set to build BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama under a deal worth as much as $40 billion, announced March 19 following White House talks between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The White House fact sheet framed the cost as "as much as $40 billion," placing it alongside a separate commitment of up to $33 billion for natural gas power generation facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas.

The BWRX-300 is the advanced nuclear design at the heart of the agreement, a GE Vernova-Hitachi product positioned as a faster, more scalable alternative to the conventional 1-gigawatt plants that typically take a decade to site, permit, and finance. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry identified IHI Corp., Japan Steel Works Ltd., and Tamagawa Seiki Co. as expected contributors of components and machinery to the program, extending the supply chain across both countries.

A White House official, speaking before the announcement on condition of anonymity, said the projects are intended to stabilize electricity prices and bolster U.S. leadership in global technology competition, citing the race among technology companies to build power-hungry data centers for artificial intelligence development. The official described SMRs as capable of adding power that can be generated on demand to fuel American industrial growth.

The joint statement issued by both governments said the projects would ensure security by "accelerating economic growth of both countries, thereby paving the way for a New Golden Age of the ever-growing Japan-US Alliance."

Both the nuclear and gas investments sit within a larger bilateral framework established under a recent trade pact, under which Tokyo committed to invest up to $550 billion in the U.S. economy through 2029. The first tranche under that framework came in February, with $36 billion committed across three infrastructure projects. The SMR and natural gas packages represent the second wave of project announcements under that structure.

The broader investment package also reaches into critical minerals. Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. are involved in rare-earth initiatives in Indiana and Arizona, while both governments are backing Albemarle Corp.'s lithium-ion project in North Carolina and expanding cooperation on deep-sea minerals near Japan's Minamitorishima Island.

Key details remain unresolved. No construction start dates or operational timelines for the Tennessee and Alabama reactors were provided. The contractual structure between GE Vernova and Hitachi, including whether they are operating as a joint venture or under separate build contracts, has not been publicly defined. Critically, most SMR designs, including the BWRX-300, still require U.S. regulatory approval, and no small modular reactor has yet been connected to the American grid. How quickly that regulatory path moves will determine whether the ambition behind this $40 billion commitment translates into operational capacity.