Japan and the United States are working to include a nuclear power project in the second ‌round of deals under Japan’s $550-billion investment package, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The nuclear power project, which the sources say will involve Westinghouse, is designed to strengthen both countries’ energy supply chains as war in the Middle East renews concerns about energy security.
Tokyo is scrambling to build up deals under the investment commitments it made as part of a U.S. tariff agreement. It has already announced three projects valued at $36 billion, including a natural gas power plant in Ohio.
A project to construct a copper smelting and refining facility is also being considered, the sources said.
See also: Trump says Japan to invest in energy, industrial projects in Ohio, Texas and Georgia
“Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement that the Portsmouth, Ohio power plant, valued at $33 billion, would be the largest natural gas-fired generating facility in history with a capacity of 9.2 gigawatts.”
“The White House said Japan would invest in the $2.1 billion Texas GulfLink deepwater crude oil export facility off the Texas coast.”