Fermi America signs MOU with MVM EGI to develop cooling system for AI campus near Amarillo

Fermi America has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Hungarian engineering firm MVM EGI Zrt. to design and develop a large-scale cooling system for the company’s planned 11-gigawatt private energy grid campus near Amarillo. The agreement marks a significant step in advancing Project Matador, Fermi’s phased development that will combine 6 gigawatts of combined-cycle natural gas generation with four AP1000 nuclear units.

Company representatives described the MOU as part of a broader effort to supply large volumes of reliable, low-emission energy while also managing natural resources responsibly in the Texas Panhandle. Under the agreement, Fermi America and MVM EGI will collaborate on early-stage engineering and feasibility work for a series of indirect hybrid cooling towers intended to support the project’s gas and nuclear facilities.

MVM EGI, which has more than five decades of experience in advanced cooling technologies, is known internationally for dry cooling systems originally pioneered by Professors László Heller and László Forgó. Company leadership emphasized that this background positions MVM EGI to help Fermi America deploy water-efficient cooling at a scale rarely attempted in the United States.

The two companies plan to jointly determine technical requirements for the cooling towers, analyze design configurations, assess height and site limitations, and model expected water-saving performance across the project’s full build-out. Construction on the first tower is expected to begin in January 2026, and the complete cooling system is scheduled for delivery by 2034 to align with the staged development of the natural gas and nuclear units.

Fermi America officials noted that the hybrid towers will rely primarily on air cooling combined with closed-loop water circulation, a design intended to minimize evaporative losses and reduce strain on local water supplies. The partnership will also evaluate the use of recycled and reclaimed water sources, subsurface reservoirs, and solar-covered retention ponds—measures aimed at reducing evaporation and lessening long-term pressure on the Ogallala Aquifer.

Company leadership also stressed that the project is being shaped with local concerns in mind, pointing to the organization’s West Texas roots and its stated commitment to balancing large-scale energy development with responsible water stewardship. Fermi America has presented the collaboration with MVM EGI as an example of its intention to pair global engineering expertise with regional priorities as Project Matador moves forward.