Fermi says allies could take equity stake in US nuclear consortium

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The founders of Fermi America FRMI.O a company hoping to build the world's largest data center and fuel it with nuclear power, gas, and solar said on Wednesday that foreign countries could take an equity stake in the development of U.S. atomic power.

Fermi debuted on the Nasdaq on Wednesday with shares valuing the data center real estate investment trust at $14.8 billion amid surging investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure stocks.

Founders Rick Perry, a former U.S. energy secretary in the first administration of President Donald Trump, and Toby Neugebauer want to create a site in Amarillo, Texas, that would have four Westinghouse Electric AP1000 reactors. It would be the second U.S. nuclear plant in a desert.

Perry and Neugebauer want the U.S. government to be a partner in the project, as it would host nuclear-powered artificial intelligence that could be used by the Pentagon.

The founders said it's possible that the U.S. government and the governments of allies could take equity stakes in a nuclear power consortium in which Fermi would be involved. "We have been visited by high level delegations from all over the world looking at getting involved with us," Neugebauer said without offering details.

"It may not just be the United States that would take a equity position in a consortium to develop nuclear power. You could see other countries looking to reinvest in the United States and ... being partners with us," he said.

Interest in nuclear reactors has spiked after Trump issued executive orders in May that aim to fast track applications for new reactors, overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and make available nuclear waste and surplus plutonium for reactor fuel.

The most recent reactors built in the U.S., also Westinghouse AP1000 designs at Vogtle in Georgia, were delayed by years and about $16 billion over budget.