The company behind a gargantuan 11GW planned energy and data center campus in Amarillo, Texas, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO).

Fermi America, a company co-founded by former US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, filed a Registration Statement on Form S-11 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the proposed IPO on Monday (8 September). Fermi intends to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "FRMI."

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have yet to be determined.

According to Fermi, UBS Investment Bank, Cantor, and Mizuho have been selected as the joint lead book-running managers for the proposed offering. Macquarie Capital, Stifel, and Truist Securities will act as additional book-running managers.

Fermi is developing “Project Matador,” a planned 11GW hyperscale data center complex expected to span 18 million sq ft (1.67 million sqm). The project is being developed in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, with the campus set to be built on land at Texas Tech University.

To power the campus, Fermi plans to utilize a range of on-site power sources, including natural gas, solar, wind, and nuclear energy. The company has already signed several deals to acquire the necessary power.

In July, the company acquired more than 600MW of natural gas generation assets across two deals. The acquired assets include nine natural gas turbines, which the company stated will support its goal of delivering 1GW of AI power at the site by 2026.

While natural gas will be the primary source of power in the short term, Fermi expects that in the long term, nuclear will become the primary supplier of energy to the campus.

The company has stated its intention to deploy four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors on-site. The AP1000 is an advanced Generation III+ Pressurized Water Reactor, with a capacity of between 1,100MWe to 1,117MWe. In an attempt to streamline the permitting process, Fermi has partnered with Westinghouse to finalize the Combined Operating License Application to deploy the reactors at the site.

However, concerns remain over whether Fermi will be able to deploy the reactors on time and within budget. The last set of AP1000 units installed in the US was at the Vogtle nuclear plant in 2023, coming in $17 billion over budget and more than seven years behind schedule.

Fermi has also signed two other agreements to support its nuclear ambitions. The company signed two Memoranda of Understanding with South Korean firms Hyundai and Doosan Enerbility to support the deployment of the nuclear reactors on the site.

The project, initially announced in June, is still in its very early stages of development. According to the company, it has commenced with geotechnical work and “expects” to deliver 1GW by the end of 2026.

Earlier this month, it successfully raised $100 million as part of a Series C equity funding round, led by Macquarie Group. In addition, Fermi also secured a $250m senior loan facility, funded solely by Macquarie’s commodities and global markets business, with $100m drawn at close.