Amentum, the global engineering and technology firm trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker AMTM, and DC BLOX, a leading provider of connected data center and fiber network solutions has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration to enter negotiations for a phased lease that would establish one of the nation's largest integrated artificial intelligence and energy infrastructure projects at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

The announcement, made on July 20, 2026, from the company's Chantilly, Virginia, headquarters, marks a significant step in the federal government's push to build domestic AI computing infrastructure backed by secure, large-scale energy generation on existing government-managed land.

Scale and Structure of the Project

The proposed project would establish a 1-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center at the Savannah River Site, supported by approximately 2 gigawatts of on-site energy generation.

According to the company's announcement, the energy supply would initially be powered by natural gas, with a stated intention to bridge to advanced nuclear energy as the project matures through its phases. The project is structured as a public-private partnership, with Amentum entering lease negotiations with the NNSA before any final agreement is reached.

The company described the arrangement as a phased lease, indicating the buildout and operational scope would be developed incrementally rather than deployed all at once.

The Savannah River Site, located in South Carolina, is a federally managed nuclear reservation that has historically been used for nuclear materials processing and environmental cleanup operations.

Amentum has had a long-standing presence at the site, providing nuclear operations and engineering services over multiple decades.

NNSA's Role and the National Security Dimension

The involvement of the National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy responsible for managing the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and nonproliferation efforts, places the project firmly within the national security infrastructure landscape.

The NNSA's selection of Amentum to enter negotiations signals that the agency views the convergence of AI computing capacity and energy resilience as a strategic priority.

John Heller, Chief Executive Officer of Amentum, framed the project in those terms directly.

"Artificial intelligence, energy resilience, and national security are becoming increasingly interconnected, creating new opportunities to strengthen America's strategic advantage," Heller said in the company's announcement.

He added that the agreement gives Amentum the opportunity to partner with the NNSA to deliver infrastructure that will help power technologies shaping the nation's future.

DC BLOX's Role in the Consortium

DC BLOX will contribute its expertise in designing, building, and operating data center and fiber network infrastructure.

The company, which describes itself as a digital infrastructure provider focused on the Southeast, currently has 23 data centers operating or in development across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The company said the Savannah River project builds on investments it has already made across the region.

Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC BLOX, characterized the selection as an opportunity to advance both national technology goals and the company's approach to energy strategy.

"To lead, we must innovate not just in how we build data centers, but in how we power them," Uphues said in the announcement.

Amentum's Position at the Savannah River Site

Mark Whitney, president of Amentum's Energy and Environment business, emphasized the company's history at the South Carolina facility as a foundational element of its qualification for the project.

"For generations, Amentum has helped solve some of the nation's most complex engineering and nuclear challenges, including at the Savannah River Site," Whitney said.

"This opportunity builds on that legacy by bringing together our expertise in nuclear operations, infrastructure development, and program delivery to help our customer safely and securely accelerate the next generation of AI and energy infrastructure."

Amentum employs approximately 50,000 people across more than 70 countries and operates on all seven continents.

The company describes itself as a global leader in advanced engineering and innovative technology solutions, serving the United States and allied governments on challenges in science, security, and sustainability.

Project Objectives and Infrastructure Goals

According to Amentum's announcement, the Savannah River Site data center project is designed to achieve three broad objectives: accelerating domestic AI computing capacity, expanding reliable power generation, and demonstrating how public-private partnerships can advance innovative technologies while strengthening critical infrastructure.

The framing of natural gas as a bridge fuel to advanced nuclear energy reflects broader energy policy discussions around the power demands of large-scale AI data centers, which have driven significant attention from both industry and government toward the question of how to supply reliable, high-volume electricity to computing facilities without straining existing power grids.

By co-locating generation capacity with the data center on a federal site, the project's structure attempts to address both the power supply challenge and the security requirements associated with national-level AI infrastructure.

The project as described would represent one of the largest integrated AI and energy builds in the United States, though its full realization remains contingent on the completion of lease negotiations between Amentum and the NNSA.

No timeline for the conclusion of those negotiations or for initial operations was disclosed in the company's announcement.

Company Context and Investor Considerations

Amentum went public on the New York Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol AMTM. The company's announcement included standard forward-looking statement disclosures, noting that actual results could differ materially from the expectations described due to factors including safety incidents, cost control challenges, and performance or contractual schedule requirements.

Amentum directed investors to its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a fuller accounting of risk factors.

Amentum has separately announced it will host its third quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings conference call on August 11, 2026, at which point financial details related to the project's anticipated revenue and contract structure may be addressed with investors.

In May 2026, DC BLOX announced it had increased its green loan financing to USD 850 million, a figure that reflects the scale of capital the company is deploying for infrastructure development across its regional footprint. The Savannah River project, if lease negotiations conclude successfully, would represent by far the largest single initiative in the company's portfolio.