- Project Matador Holds the Only Active Combined Operating License Application Accepted by the NRC in More Than 15 Years — Greenlight by NRC to Break Ground Immediately
- Fermi America’s Nuclear Program Advances in Lockstep with President Trump’s Executive Orders to Restore American Nuclear Leadership
- Uzman Highlights Strategic Partnerships with Westinghouse, Hyundai E&C, and Doosan as Necessary to Lock Up Long Lead Time Assets and Deliver 4.4 GW of New Nuclear on Time, on Budget
AMARILLO, Texas, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fermi Inc. (d/b/a Fermi America) (NASDAQ & LSE: FRMI), operating as Fermi America™, in partnership with the Texas Tech University System (TTU System), today announced that Mesut Uzman, Chief Nuclear Construction Officer of Fermi America, took the stage at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Regulatory Information Conference (NRC RIC 2026) in Rockville, Maryland — the nation’s premier annual forum where nuclear policy, regulation, and industry execution converge.
“We are answering the President’s call to jumpstart America’s nuclear renaissance,” said Mesut Uzman, Chief Nuclear Construction Officer of Fermi America. “The only site construction-ready today, we have secured the talent, the only active large nuclear power plant COL application in progress with the NRC, and the best global nuclear partners in Hyundai E&C and Doosan Enerbility, given their track record of building dozens of reactors successfully across the globe.”
“China is building 30+ reactors today,” added Fermi America CEO Toby Neugebauer. “Fermi did exactly what the President mandated at Fermi speed to jumpstart nuclear on American soil. Once the U.S. Government approves Project Matador for Korean investment under the recently approved Korean trade deal, we are the only site that will be ready to break ground on nuclear in 2026, a feat no one thought possible.”
Uzman represented the only project in America with a large-scale LWR combined license application accepted by the NRC in more than 15 years — and the only one ready to break ground. He joined an elite panel for the session “T4 Critical Links: Strengthening the Nuclear Supply Chain for Tomorrow’s Reactors,” sharing the floor with Mr. Matthew Vazquez, Senior Director of Standards and Certification at ASME; Mr. Rajwant Jolly, Manager of Quality at Bechtel Corporation; Mr. Sean Jones, Vice President of APX Supply Chain at Westinghouse; and Mr. HyeonSoo Kim, Director at Doosan Enerbility.
The composition of the panel speaks directly to Fermi America’s position at the center of America’s nuclear industrial base. Westinghouse and Doosan Enerbility are both strategic partners in Project Matador’s nuclear program. Their joint appearance alongside Fermi America at the NRC’s most prominent annual forum signals the depth and seriousness of the partnerships driving Project Matador forward.
In just nine months, Fermi America has assembled the partnerships, permits, personnel, and property to position Project Matador as the only nuclear project ready to deliver on President Trump’s executive orders to restore American nuclear leadership:
- Fermi America filed the first Combined Operating License (COLA) in more than 15 years, accepted by the NRC for review last September.
- Fermi America has secured a 99-year lease from the Texas Tech University System on property adjacent to Pantex — the Department of Energy facility that has stewarded America’s nuclear arsenal for 70 years.
- Fermi has retained the world’s leading nuclear construction experts, a team, including Uzman, with a combined track record of 16 reactors successfully built on time and on budget across the globe.
- Fermi has partnered with Westinghouse, Hyundai E&C, and Doosan — forging the international ties required to lock up long lead time assets necessary to deliver on the President’s executive orders.
- Hyundai E&C has committed to providing Fermi America favorable contract terms for AP1000 reactor construction at Project Matador, consistent with the proven performance of their domestic Korean nuclear builds and the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant successfully delivered in the UAE. Fermi has launched its FEED study, with a proposal to break ground on 4.4 GW of nuclear construction at Project Matador on July 4th — with the President.
- The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has granted final approval of the nation’s second largest Clean Air Permit, covering 6 GW of clean natural gas power generation at the 11 GW campus as a bridge to nuclear power.
- Korea’s leading nuclear industrial champions — Hyundai E&C and Doosan Enerbility — have entered into formal contractual relationships with Fermi America and have designated Project Matador as a top priority within their U.S. nuclear portfolios, bringing decades of proven reactor construction expertise to America’s most advanced nuclear build.
Project Matador is designed to answer the nation’s call at a pivotal moment. As AI infrastructure, semiconductor fabrication, advanced manufacturing, and defense modernization drive an unprecedented surge in electricity demand, America needs gigawatt-scale, reliable, clean power that the public grid was never designed to deliver. Project Matador’s 11 GW behind-the-meter private power grid — combining natural gas, AP1000 nuclear, solar, and battery storage — is built to meet that demand without burdening ratepayers or straining the public grid.
Uzman underscored the critical role of international partnerships in delivering Project Matador on schedule. “We cannot achieve this epic goal by ourselves,” Uzman said. “We are working with Doosan, Hyundai E&C, and Westinghouse — and Hyundai has been involved in the construction of 18-plus nuclear reactors in recent decades without liquidated damages. That is an unmatched global track record.”
Fermi America’s nuclear program advances in direct alignment with President Trump’s executive orders to accelerate domestic nuclear deployment, restore American nuclear manufacturing, and ensure the United States wins the AI and energy race with China.
For media inquiries:
Lexi Swearingen
Media@FermiAmerica.com
Fermi America™ official business information
Legal Entity: Fermi Inc. (d/b/a Fermi America) (NASDAQ & LSE: FRMI)
Brand Name: Fermi America™
Address: 620 S Taylor St #301 Amarillo, TX 79101-2436
Website: https://fermiamerica.com/
About Fermi America™:
Fermi America™ (NASDAQ & LSE: FRMI) is an advanced energy and hyperscaler development company with a mission to power the future of artificial intelligence directly to the world’s most compute-intensive businesses through its flagship initiative, Project Matador. Co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Co-Founder and former Co-Managing Partner of Quantum Energy Partners Toby Neugebauer, Fermi America™ combines a deep bench of proven world-class multi-disciplinary leaders and over 2 GW of secured long lead time natural gas generation assets to build the world’s largest next-gen private grid campus. Ultimately constructing 11GW of behind-the-meter, low-carbon, on-demand power, Project Matador is expected to integrate a large combined-cycle natural gas project, advanced nuclear power generation, utility grid power, solar power, and battery energy storage to support hyperscale AI and advanced computing.
About the Texas Tech University System:
Established in 1996, the Texas Tech University System is one of the top public university systems in the nation, consisting of five universities – Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and Midwestern State University. Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, the TTU System is a more than $3 billion enterprise focused on advancing higher education, health care, research and outreach with approximately 21,000 employees and 64,000 students, more than 400,000 alums, a statewide economic impact of $19.2 billion and an endowment valued at $3 billion. In its short history, the TTU System has grown tremendously and is nationally acclaimed, operating at 20 academic locations in 16 cities (15 in Texas, 1 international). In addition, the TTU System is one of only nine in the nation to offer programs for undergraduate, medical, law, nursing, pharmacy, dental and veterinary education among other academic areas.
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