JD Vance, the U.S. Vice President, seems to be laying the foundation for a major push in nuclear energy investment in the UK. Ahead of Donald Trump’s upcoming state visit to London, reports suggest that Vance quietly met with executives from leading American nuclear firms such as Westinghouse, GE Hitachi, X-energy, Holtec International, and TerraPower (Bill Gates’ backed company). Interestingly, these meetings were said to have taken place during his recent trip to Scotland.
While officially described as “exploratory,” sources close to the talks reveal they went on far longer than planned and focused on practical opportunities for American companies to help meet Britain’s rising energy demand. A key driver here is the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and data centers, both of which require massive amounts of power.
Some of the headline proposals on the table include:
- A large-scale nuclear plant in Anglesey, North Wales, led by Westinghouse.
- A fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs), with X-energy aiming to roll them out in UK industrial hubs.
This push comes just before Trump’s second state visit to the UK, scheduled for 17–19 September. Unusually, U.S. presidents serving a second term are not typically invited for another state visit. However, this trip follows a personal invitation from King Charles III, delivered earlier this year by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during White House trade discussions.
Trump, who last visited in 2019 under Queen Elizabeth II, has described the invitation as a “great honor.” This time, he will be accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and the couple will be hosted at Windsor Castle since Buckingham Palace is undergoing renovations.
The UK government, meanwhile, has already moved to cut red tape around nuclear energy. Earlier in 2025, reforms were introduced to make it easier for SMRs to be deployed across England and Wales. Prime Minister Starmer stressed in February that Britain has been “let down” by decades of delays in nuclear development and has vowed to accelerate projects to boost energy security, reduce reliance on foreign powers, and lower costs for households.
Adding to the momentum, Lord Mandelson, Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., called for a “generational evolution” in the transatlantic partnership. In a speech at the Ditchley Annual Lecture, he emphasized that Trump’s visit is not only about tradition and ceremony, but about forging new agreements in energy, AI, and defense that will define the next era of UK–US cooperation.
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