Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at an event for representatives of the Civil Nuclear industry, at a reception at Lancaster House in central London on September 15, 2025, to mark the announcement of a new UK-US partnership on nuclear. Alberto Pezzali / AFP
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain and the United States will sign more than $10 billion worth of deals in technology and nuclear projects during President Donald Trump’s state visit, UK and US officials said Monday.
Trump will be accompanied by a “significant” number of US tech CEOs when he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence on Thursday, a senior US official said.
They would include the heads of chip giant Nvidia and ChatGPT-maker Open AI, US media reported.
“This visit will highlight a new science and technology partnership that will include billions of dollars in new investment,” the US official told reporters including AFP.
“We’re looking at more than ten billion, perhaps tens of billions, that will take place. We know for sure that there’s definitely more than 10 but there’s a lot.”
The two countries will also sign an agreement to speed up development of new nuclear power projects, the UK government said.
The partnership promises faster regulatory approval and several new private-sector investment deals for nuclear projects, as the UK strives to meet net-zero carbon emissions and energy security targets.
Under the agreement, Britain and the United States will use each other’s safety assessments on new reactor designs, a move expected to cut the time to obtain a nuclear project license to two years from three or four years.
Starmer said the partnership set the UK “on course to a golden age of nuclear”.
The two countries will also unveil “advances in defence technology cooperation” and connections between their top financial hubs, US officials said.
Trump arrives in Britain late Tuesday for a historic second state visit.
King Charles III hosts him at Windsor Castle on Wednesday before Starmer welcomes him to his Chequers residence on Thursday.
A US official said there would be “significant attendance by several CEOs of American tech companies” who were expected to participate at a business roundtable at Chequers.
The tech investments come despite tensions between the Trump administration and Britain over London’s digital tax.
Trump has threatened new tariffs on companies seen as targeting US tech firms.
The nuclear deal meanwhile comes as Britain refocuses on shoring up nuclear power since the start of the war in Ukraine, saying it is needed for energy security and facing a fleet of ageing power stations.
Britain said the partnership agrees to “eliminate any last dependencies on Russian nuclear material by the end of 2028 — further squeezing (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin out of the energy market”.
Several commercial deals were also announced Monday, including between US firm X-energy and British Gas owner Centrica to build up to 12 advanced modular reactors in Hartlepool, northeast England.
US firm Holtec, France’s EDF and British firm Tritax are set to develop data centres powered by small modular reactors, which aim to cut the costs and complexity of building nuclear power stations.
The partnership also includes enhanced cooperation on experimental programmes for nuclear fusion, a technology aimed at providing emissions-free electricity without nuclear waste.