Elementl signs Korean funding deal for Ohio reactors as GE Vernova counts on a 116GW gas backlog
Korean private capital has signed a preliminary deal worth up to $750 million to fund Elementl Power's reactors in Ohio and beyond before any customer signs. GE Vernova reports Q3 on October 28, and its gas backlog, not nuclear, is what pays.
Vincent Jiang · 2 min read
Elementl Power is raising $750 million to do something utilities never do: pay for reactor work before a single customer has signed 12. On October 26 the nuclear developer, headquartered in Washington, announced a preliminary agreement with a consortium led by South Korean investment firm DS Investment Partners, with Samsung C&T participating as a potential strategic investor 12.
Bloomberg reported the consortium pledged as much as $200 million for up to three of Elementl's projects 2. Chief executive Chris Colbert called it a "first-of-its-kind capital formation model" aimed at funding projects to final investment decision, covering permitting, interconnection and long-lead procurement 1.
Two bets, one order book
Both bets run through GE Vernova+2.68% — GE Vernova, up 2.68 percent today Hitachi Nuclear Energy, the joint venture building the BWRX-300 small reactor 12. Elementl plans up to 1.5GW of these reactors in Meigs County, Ohio, a former coal hub, and has an agreement with Alphabet's Google to advance three nuclear sites 13.
The same day, at Singapore's energy week, GE Vernova's power chief Eric Gray called small reactors a backbone for the Asean Power Grid and said "a decade and beyond, that's really where nuclear comes in" 4.
Gas pays the bills this decade
Nuclear is the story investors are being sold; gas is the story paying for it. GE Vernova's gas equipment backlog and slot reservations hit 116GW, with management targeting at least 125GW by year-end 5. First-half data-center orders topped $5 billion, more than twice the full-year 2025 total 6.
Turbine output is expected to rise from 20GW this year to 30GW by 2030 4. Our September 28 piece set out who stands on the other side of the backlog; what is new since October 26 is Korean private capital funding pre-contract reactor work and Gray putting reactors at the center of South-East Asia's grid plan.
The gas ramp that carries earnings to 2030
- Gas turbine output (GW)
- Estimate
Data
| Gas turbine output (GW) | |
|---|---|
| 2026 (estimate) | 20 |
| 2028 (estimate) | 24 |
| 2030 (estimate) | 30 |
What Wednesday decides
Q2 orders ran $24.2 billion against $11.1 billion of revenue, and backlog stands at $176 billion 6. But no Western operator runs a commercial BWRX-300 yet; Ontario's first four units target the early 2030s, and only Russia and China have operating small reactors 4.
Q2 orders of $24.2B ran more than double the revenue booked
Data
| USD billions | |
|---|---|
| Q2 '26 orders | 24.2B |
| Q2 '26 revenue | 11.1B |
| Total backlog | 176B |
So Elementl's capital buys licenses and engineering, not cash flow: the agreement explicitly is not a final investment decision 16. GE Vernova reports October 28: consensus sees revenue of about $12 billion and EPS of roughly $4 7. Watch the backlog-to-cash conversion, not the nuclear headline.
Gas demand is converting: revenue up 35% in two years
Data
| Revenue ($B) | |
|---|---|
| Q1 '24 | 7.26B |
| Q2 '24 | 8.2B |
| Q3 '24 | 8.91B |
| Q4 '24 | 10.56B |
| Q1 '25 | 8.03B |
| Q2 '25 | 9.11B |
| Q3 '25 | 9.97B |
| Q4 '25 | 10.96B |
| Q1 '26 | 9.34B |
| Q2 '26 | 11.1B |
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