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America is on the cusp of a nuclear power renaissance. Energy demand is soaring. AI companies and advanced tech are driving the demand growth and are willing to pay big to bring more, reliable and clean energy online. Leaders are abuzz with the promise of next-gen nuclear “small modular reactor” technology.
In an August Forefront column last year (“Nuclear needs Operation Warp Speed; Indiana can lead it”), I outlined how Indiana is strategically equipped to lead America in this new era and must launch a focused “Operation Warp Speed” effort to achieve it.
In the five months since, the opportunity around this for Indiana has become even clearer, and the competition has grown. Not only can Indiana help lead America in bringing online this technology here within our borders, but also, if we strike fast and outpace other states, we can become a central hub for its production for the rest of the country.
It’s a golden opportunity, one that could charge Indiana’s economic growth and reputation.
According to a quietly released November report by the Indiana Office of Energy Development, Purdue University and a consortium of energy leaders across the state and country, Indiana is well-positioned to secure the production sites of the reactor and turbine parts for this modular, factory-made tech and, more broadly, develop the supply chains that feed its construction.
Our top-notch nuclear program at Purdue, our manufacturing and supply chain expertise, our well-established reputation for coordination, and our material success in securing three nationally designated innovation hubs for the state (around microchips, biotech and hydrogen energy)—together these assets angle Indiana to be the state that could kick the United States’ burgeoning nuclear ecosystem into high gear.
Indiana is also fortunate: BWX Technologies already makes and assembles the U.S. Navy’s nuclear reactors for submarines in Mount Vernon, and our new governor, Mike Braun, and his secretary of energy and natural resources, Suzanne Jaworowski, have designated nuclear power as a core priority.
It’s an exciting confluence of factors. But the name of the game now might be speed. The market is accelerating, and path dependencies are being set.
Individual billionaires left and right are betting personal fortunes to back the industry. Big tech companies like Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are inking deals to buy nuclear power for decades to come. And states—like Virginia and New York—are already drawing in their business.
This is not to mention, too, that currently zero commercial reactors—zilch—are being constructed in the entire United States, whereas China is building nearly 30 by the decade’s end. China is cleaning our clocks.
Here in Indiana, while there are promising pieces of the nuclear puzzle, leaders must be under no illusions: At current pace, Indiana is very unlikely to have a watt of Indiana nuclear power hit the grid for a decade.
To change this trajectory, Indiana should seize the moment and make it “go time” on nuclear. We should set up a speedy and nimble central coordinating entity—perhaps within state government; perhaps, if within government is too risky, spurred by philanthropy and led outside of government—that would lure partners, facilitate connections, navigate complicated regulations, help corral funding and serve more broadly as the catalytic agent for Hoosier nuclear.
We already have a number of tech companies—Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, SK Hynix—that could quickly join in and provide a key ingredient—the money—that makes the finances work on this early-stage technology and the supply chains around it.
We now must put the pieces together and run faster than the speed of business. If we do, we can bend the arc of progress in Indiana and America for decades to come.•
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Gemelas is chief operating officer at Climate Solutions Fund, outstanding fellow of Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation and a proud Greek-American. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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