U.S. and South Korea Announce Framework for $120 Billion Nuclear Reactor Deployment
A new non-binding framework between the U.S. and South Korea commits up to $120 billion in Korean investment to build eight nuclear reactors on U.S. federal sites, including a potential 5-10% equity stake in Westinghouse.
On September 30, 2026, Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco Corporation acknowledged a new strategic framework agreement between the United States Government and the Republic of Korea. The non-binding framework commits up to $120 billion in Korean investment to help finance the construction of eight large nuclear reactors in the U.S.
The planned deployment includes six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors and two Korean APR1400 reactors that incorporate Westinghouse technology. All eight reactors are slated for deployment on federal sites designated by the U.S. Government. The initiative supports the buildout of power and compute infrastructure required to meet growing U.S. energy demand, including from artificial intelligence, and contributes to the U.S. objective of quadrupling civil nuclear capacity by 2050.
Under the framework, Korea may make a cornerstone equity investment of between 5% and 10% in Westinghouse. The agreement also contemplates a waiver under a 2025 settlement between Westinghouse and Korean entities Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) to allow the construction of up to two APR1400 reactors in the U.S. The compensation package for those APR1400 reactors is expected to provide approximately $2 billion of value per reactor to Westinghouse through licensing, services, and fuel fabrication contracts.
This latest framework builds upon a strategic partnership announced in October 2025 between the Department of Commerce, Westinghouse, Brookfield, and Cameco. That earlier partnership included an $80 billion funding commitment. Additionally, a June 2026 partnership with the Department of Energy involved $17.5 billion in conditional loan funding. The new agreement aligns the parties around the long-term growth and deployment of Westinghouse technology and could potentially accelerate AP1000 construction timelines by three years, expanding clean, reliable, and domestically produced nuclear energy generation capacity in the U.S.
The terms of the transaction remain non-binding and are subject to final negotiations, definitive agreements, and regulatory approvals.