Fermi America (Nasdaq/LSE: FRMI) and Hillcore Energy Capital Corporation have signed a framework agreement to develop an approximately 2.6 GW energy complex within the Project Matador campus, located in Carson County, Texas. The deal brings the site’s total available capacity to around 4.8 GW within 30 months, effectively doubling current capacity at no capital cost to Fermi.
The transaction is structured as a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model: Hillcore independently finances, builds, and operates the facilities, carrying all costs on its own balance sheet. Fermi purchases power only once it signs lease agreements with customers, with fuel costs passed through directly. This mechanism significantly reduces financial risk for Fermi and accelerates delivery timelines compared to a self-build approach. The first block of approximately 350 MW will break ground upon execution of definitive agreements, with the target of achieving first power within 24 months of a notice to proceed.
The Project Matador campus aims to become one of the largest privately owned energy complexes on the planet. The site will integrate the country’s largest natural gas combined-cycle plant, one of the most extensive newly built clean nuclear facilities in the United States, grid power, 100 MW of solar generation, and battery storage. The stated goal is to support hyperscale AI computing workloads and advanced computing infrastructure. The campus has already attracted over $1.5 billion in total investment and, according to Fermi’s projections, is expected to reach 17 GW at full build-out, subject to the execution of binding customer agreements.
On the nuclear front, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already launched the scoping process for the environmental impact review, and Fermi is participating in a pilot program that allows the applicant to independently prepare portions of the required documentation — a pathway that could meaningfully shorten the licensing timeline. Hillcore Group, the Canadian fund that controls Hillcore Energy Capital alongside industrial group JV Driver, manages over $6 billion in assets. The combination of an institutional investor of that scale with a contractor that has direct plant construction experience is what makes the BOOT structure viable at this size.
If the pieces fall into place on schedule, Project Matador stands as a concrete example of how large-scale AI campuses can be powered by a diversified energy mix that includes next-generation nuclear. A 4.8 GW capacity target within 30 months, alongside a trajectory toward 17 GW, suggests that the Texas Panhandle could emerge as one of the most consequential private energy hubs for American digital infrastructure over the course of this decade.
