The Government of the Republic of Korea (“Korea”) and the Government of the United States of America (“United States”) today jointly announced the strategic investment project (“Project Star”), the Korea – U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Projects (“Project Power”), and a plan to work together on the Alaska LNG project (“Project North”) under the Korea- U.S. Strategic Investment Memorandum of Understanding. The announcement implements the Trade Deal between Korea and the United States, announced on July 30, 2025, and the Strategic Investment MOU signed on November 14 of that year.

These efforts aim to build stable and resilient supply chains by enhancing cooperation between Korea and the United States in strategic industrial sectors, including energy. The plan announced today further deepens the strategic partnership between the two countries and demonstrates both governments’ shared commitment to implementing the Trade Deal. 

Through this announcement, both sides intend to bring greater stability and balance to their bilateral trade and investment relationship and to strengthen cooperation across their supply chains. Both sides intend to continue working together in good faith to implement the Trade Deal.

Project Star, Texas

Both sides intend to proceed with a $22.3 billion natural gas power facility (6,472 MW) in Encinal, Texas, dedicated to supplying power to co-located data centers. The plant will be built with a direct connection between the generating facility and the offtaker, with commercial operation of Phase 1 beginning in 2029 and the full facility coming online in stages by 2032.

The project will be led by developer Related Companies and U.S. power company NextEra Energy. Lewis Energy Group, a major natural gas producer in Texas, will provide related infrastructure including the site, gas, and water.

Both sides plan to work together to expand the participation of Korean companies across all aspects of the project, including equipment, engineering and construction, and long-term operation and maintenance. In addition, the United States, in good faith, intends to provide Korean companies the opportunity to supply Korean equipment, including turbines, to other similar projects in the United States. Leveraging the technological capabilities and supply chain strengths of Korean companies is expected to contribute to the project's stable and efficient implementation. Both sides plan to promote business-to-business cooperation and continue the necessary efforts to ensure the project's successful implementation and expanded participation by Korean companies. 

With world-class partners and strong demand for power in Texas, the project rests on solid ground and was assessed to meet the commercial reasonableness standard under the Strategic Investment MOU. Both sides will make every effort to implement the project successfully.

Project Power, Korea – United States Nuclear Power Plant Projects

Project Power represents a broad agreement to reach a finalization for investment projects in the U.S. nuclear power sector. The two countries have agreed to a comprehensive cooperation framework to build eight large-scale nuclear power plants (two APR1400s and six AP1000s) to expand baseload power capacity and strengthen U.S. energy security.

Through this initiative, both sides intend to contribute to the goal set forth in the U.S. Nuclear Energy Executive Order (May 2025) of having 10 new large reactors with complete designs under construction by 2030. Furthermore, by combining U.S. technological expertise with Korea’s supply chain capabilities and leveraging successful deployment cases in the United States, the two parties will broaden their strategic, long-term cooperation in the global nuclear power market.

Project Power signatories include both governments, Westinghouse Electric Company (“WEC”), Korea Electric Power Corporation, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.

The parties agreed to leverage Korea’s construction capabilities to supply the electricity required by the U.S..

Funding allocated under Project Power totals $120 billion out of $200 billion. Of the $120 billion, $100 billion is slated for construction costs (overnight costs) and $20 billion for contingency reserves. These reserves are counted toward the investment amount.

To ensure the prompt construction and completion of eight nuclear power plants, the Republic of Korea and the United States have agreed to cooperate on transferring a $10 billion advance payment by the end of the year to facilitate efforts, which are aimed primarily at the immediate purchasing of long-lead items, in accordance with all applicable domestic legal requirements.

In addition, under Project Power, potential investment in a significant minority interest in WEC by Korean companies will be pursued. This arrangement is intended to facilitate the sharing of commercial gains from large-scale nuclear power plant projects, with the detailed terms and conditions to be finalized through commercial negotiations.

Project North, Alaska 

The United States and Korea have agreed to commence working on the Alaska LNG project, subject to meeting commercial reasonableness under the Strategic Investment MOU and all applicable domestic legal requirements. In developing the project, the United States will facilitate the favorable involvement of Korean vendors and suppliers. The United States intends to provide assurances, to the extent possible, regarding offtake agreements at economically viable prices granting Korea priority access to Alaska LNG produced by this project.