Seeing What Building Requires: CCLP Fellows Visit Charlotte’s Mines and Manufacturing Floors

To meet growing energy demand, America needs to build more than it has in a generation, and the policy that gets it there will be shaped by people who understand how building actually happens. That is the idea behind ClearPath’s Conservative Leadership Program (CCLP), which brought nine fellows to Charlotte, North Carolina for its second annual retreat. Over three days, fellows toured a lithium mine and a turbine factory and worked on the leadership skills they will need in Washington. At both stops, the lesson was the same: what happens in Washington decides how fast America builds.

Kings Mountain shows what coordinated permitting can do 

Every energy, critical minerals and infrastructure project starts with permitting. CCLP’s fellows started their visit at Albermarle’s Kings Mountain lithium mine, a site that supplied American lithium for decades before it went quiet in the late 1980s. Albemarle is bringing it back to meet the growing need for a domestic critical minerals supply chain. As a FAST-41 covered project, Kings Mountain’s federal environmental reviews were coordinated by the Permitting Council, and listed on the Permitting Dashboard for transparency. The visit began with Albemarle walking them through how the mine navigated the process.

Albemarle’s lithium mine in Kings Mountain is projected to produce roughly 420,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate each year, the raw input for a domestic battery supply chain that currently depends heavily on overseas production. When federal reviews are coordinated and tracked in public, projects like Kings Mountain can move. The task for Congress is making that the norm, not the exception.

For the Congressional fellows, the visit connected directly to their day jobs. “I appreciated ClearPath taking the time to make this retreat happen and focus on allowing the CCLP fellows to develop more practical understandings of the energy policy we’re working on in Congress,” said said Max Morgan, one of CCLP’s Congressional fellows. CCLP doesn’t just prepare fellows for the work they will do in the future, but for the work they are doing in Washington right now.

The grid is built in factories before it’s built in the field

At Siemens Energy’s Charlotte hub, Project Engineer Mike Ellis walked the group across the floor where gas turbines, steam turbines, large generators and combustion components are built – machines that will spend decades putting power on grids here and abroad. This part of the supply chain rarely gets attention in Washington, but it is where rising electricity demand meets real manufacturing capacity. Meeting that demand means building here and selling globally, and factories like this one are how America does both.

Good policy needs good leaders

CCLP is designed with the idea that professional development is a key driver in producing the next generation of clean energy champions. The professional skills fellows build in the program are the same skills that will serve them throughout their careers. 

“A big part of CCLP is building a network, not just creating individual fellowship experiences,” said Dana Faught, Director of CCLP. “The retreat gives us dedicated time to invest in them professionally, expose them to parts of the energy space they may not see in their current roles, and help them build relationships with each other.”

Part of that investment came through the SHINE Leadership Accelerator with Nicole Greer, who told the cohort her goal was personal transformation, not a presentation. She asked fellows to start with one question: “What is it like to experience me?” Each fellow charted the highs and lows that shaped them and shared those stories with the group.

Greer also described the concept of “willingness” throughout the sessions during the retreat, and directly tied it to the fellows’ work in energy and in Congress.

“Moving legislation and policy forward can require Plan A, Plan B and sometimes Plan Z,” Greer said. “You have to develop resilience, persistence and, there’s that word again, willingness.”

Plenty of organizations offer young professionals a seat at the table, but fewer take them to the steel-in-the-ground where that policy work becomes real. ClearPath does both.

The opportunity ahead

In Charlotte, fellows saw what it takes for America to build again: a lithium mine returning after decades offline, and a factory floor turning out the turbines and generators that keep the lights on. As they take on bigger roles in Washington and across the energy sector, they’ll bring that experience with them. That’s the point of CCLP – making sure the people who help decide how fast America builds have already seen what building requires.

 

The Biggest Week Yet for the Future of Next-Gen Geothermal

Cape Station going online and DOE announcing $99 million in new awards validate the next-gen project pipeline.

This week, the Department of Energy Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) announced more than $99 million in new awards, supporting 21 pilot and demonstration projects to test and characterize enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The projects span geothermal resources in eight states, stretching from Washington’s Wind River Valley to New Mexico’s Rio Grande Rift to Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

Additionally, Fervo Energy announced first power at its flagship Cape Station project, meaning the project is now delivering power to the grid. This major breakthrough for next-generation geothermal marks what Fervo has called “the first time a utility-scale enhanced geothermal development has reached this milestone anywhere in the world.”

The fact both of these major announcements come within 72 hours of each other is a testament to the momentum behind the geothermal industry. These announcements reflect years of hard work to establish the right financing and permitting policies, prove new technologies and deliver real projects that produce clean firm power at scale.

For DOE’s part, Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit made the award announcements during a fireside chat moderated by ClearPath’s Head of Policy, Lisa Epifani at the Geothermal Rising Conference in Houston, TX. Earlier this year, Haustveit told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this would be the largest competitive geothermal funding opportunity in the Department’s history, and this announcement delivers.

DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit and BLM Principal Deputy Director Bill Groffy joined a fireside chat with ClearPath’s Head of Policy, Lisa Epifani, at the Geothermal Rising Conference in Houston, TX.

It’s the latest proof point in a model that has already delivered results: federal dollars supporting the highest-risk part of the technology innovation curve, later paving the way for private capital to take over after projects have been proven at commercial scale.

That model matters more with increasing electricity demand. AI, manufacturing and reshoring are straining a grid that needs more firm, dispatchable power as soon as possible. Geothermal is uniquely positioned to answer that call and next-generation EGS technology means it’s no longer confined to a handful of geologic hotspots in the west. DOE estimates next-generation geothermal could supply at least 90 gigawatts of American electricity by 2050 — a hundredfold increase from today, putting it on par with the Nation’s nuclear power fleet. 

The 21 new awards break down into two categories. Five for EGS field tests and another 16 for earlier stage resource characterization. Five projects will conduct field-scale EGS tests at commercially relevant depths and temperatures, powered by industry leaders Fervo Energy, Zanskar and Quaise Energy. An additional 16 projects will identify and confirm promising geothermal resources, generating subsurface data that DOE will make public through the Geothermal Data Repository to share the learning value of each well across the industry.

2026 Geothermal Pilot and Demonstrations Award Selections

Zanskar, a Salt Lake City-based developer that deploys artificial intelligence to find overlooked geothermal resources, was one of just two companies to land awards in both categories. At its Lightning Dock project in New Mexico, Zanskar will test whether enhanced-geothermal techniques can wring more power from an already-producing field. In Nevada, a second award will fund a directionally-drilled confirmation well in an area that has never been tested, based on data from Zanskar’s AI modeling.

Fervo Energy also picked up two of the 21 awards, including an EGS field test in Elmore County, Idaho. Fervo’s success in this funding round is just the latest evidence the model works: years of federal support through DOE’s Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) site in Utah helped the company boost drilling rates by as much as 143 percent, and Fervo has gone on to sign long-term power contracts with major utilities and tech companies to deliver the first commercial-scale EGS project.

Quaise Energy will use its award to test EGS on the flank of Oregon’s Newberry Volcano at bottomhole temperatures between 265°C and 365°C, temperatures greater than where most conventional drilling tools and materials have ever been validated. This combination of unproven geology and new technology is precisely the type of project a milestone-based federal demonstration program is designed to de-risk and allow private capital to follow.

The other 16 awards, led by companies like XGS Energy, Invenergy and GreenFire Energy, will uncover additional sites through earlier-stage activities. This category of projects seek to bolster the database of subsurface characterization for geothermal resources. Subsurface uncertainty is the single biggest reason private capital hesitates to invest in a project before it has proven, especially because drilling accounts for up to 80 percent of total geothermal project costs. Public data from these wells lowers that risk for the next company down the road, not just the one holding the DOE award.

Geothermal has quietly solved the technology risk even though it has seen a smaller federal demonstration budget than the multi-billion dollar programs for technologies like nuclear, hydrogen and carbon capture. While that gap has not stopped geothermal’s momentum, it has certainly made it harder for this reliable, clean, baseload energy source to reach gigawatt scale. Shrinking that funding gap represents an opportunity for Congress to supercharge the geothermal pathway toward commercialization. 

The Geo POWER Act, led by Reps. Nick Begich (R-AK) and Susie Lee (D-NV) with a Senate companion from Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO), would establish the kind of milestone-based federal demonstration program these 21 awards are already road-testing at smaller scale. The bill would unlock innovative, performance-based financing to reduce project risk, attract private capital, and expand next-generation geothermal into new regions of the country, beyond the handful of states where it operates today. 

The combination of the Trump administration’s support for geothermal and geothermal’s proven array of commercial projects is the perfect match to support American drilling jobs, energy security and grid reliability. These factors also make it a natural fit for a robust energy innovation agenda in the next Congress. The innovators selected by DOE to advance these next-generation projects are well-suited to deliver on the energy dominance agenda.

 

Building the Next 250 Years of American Energy

America’s first 250 years were built on energy innovation. From the steam engine to shale gas, American ingenuity has consistently unlocked the next generation of affordable, reliable power. As our nation marks this milestone, the next 250 years demand the same ambition.

AI and data centers, efforts to reshore manufacturing, oilfield electrification and energy security needs are all pushing electricity and industrial demand higher. U.S. electricity demand could rise 35–50 percent by 2040, roughly three Texas-sized grids’ worth of new load. That growth creates an opportunity to deploy reliable, affordable, lower-emissions American technologies at scale, and turn rising demand into a lasting American advantage by innovating faster, building more and competing to win globally.

Now in its fifth year, the Carbon Innovation Forum, hosted by ClearPath and the American Petroleum Institute (API), returned to New York Climate Week, to take on that challenge. The Forum brought government leaders, energy executives, emerging technology companies and investors together around one central theme: how American ingenuity, capital and policy can bring the next generation of energy technologies to market and lower energy costs for Americans.

Senator John Curtis (R-UT) joins fireside chat moderated by ClearPath CEO Jeremy Harrell


Winning the Global Energy Race

At the start of this century, U.S. power plants generated roughly three times as much electricity as China. Today, China generates more than twice as much as the United States. The gap extends to the materials that underpin energy and manufacturing: America depends entirely on imports for 13 critical minerals, while China leads production of 20 of the 60 minerals the U.S. Geological Survey deems critical and refines an estimated 70% of the world’s strategic minerals.

The United States has the tools to change that trajectory: abundant resources, deep capital markets, world-leading technical expertise and a culture of innovation. Realizing that potential requires pairing those strengths with the right policies, infrastructure and investment.

Alex Fitzsimmons, Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, joins a fireside chat moderated by ClearPath CEO Jeremy Harrell


The LNG Playbook: Innovate, Build, Sell

There is a model for this transformation. In less than a decade, the United States went from loading its first liquified natural gas (LNG) export cargo to becoming the world’s leading LNG exporter, demonstrating what is possible when American engineering, capital, infrastructure and policy move together. U.S. LNG liquefaction capacity is expected to more than double from 2025 levels by 2029, with additional projects planned and under construction.

Liquefied U.S. Natural Gas Exports

Source: Energy Information Agency

That growth was made possible by the shale revolution, enabled in part by decades of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research and public-private partnerships that advanced technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling before industry scaled them.

That model can help unlock the next generation of American energy technologies, from advanced nuclear and next-generation geothermal to critical minerals and carbon capture. The priorities are straightforward: meet rising demand with American energy, modernize infrastructure and supply chains, mobilize capital and turn American innovation into global leadership.


Shale Revolution 2.0: Producing More at Home

Energy security begins with making better use of the resources, expertise and infrastructure the United States already has. The oil and gas industry has spent decades building world-leading capabilities in geology, drilling, subsurface engineering and carbon management. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) already shows how that expertise can increase energy production, using captured carbon dioxide (CO2) and pipelines to recover additional oil from mature fields. The same infrastructure and subsurface capabilities can support emerging approaches such as enhanced mineral recovery (EMR), helping recover critical minerals from domestic deposits and unlocking new markets. Scaling both EOR and EMR will require more captured CO2 and the pipelines to move it.

The first shale revolution cemented America as an energy superpower. The next can apply that same subsurface expertise across oil and gas, critical minerals and emerging resources to increase domestic production, strengthen supply chains and reduce dependence on foreign competitors.

Andy Rapp, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, and Will Jordan, Chief Legal and Policy Officer, EQT Corporation, join a fireside chat moderated by API Vice President of Natural Gas Rob Jennings.


Wires and Pipes: Building the Infrastructure America Needs

No single step would do more to let America build than modernized permitting. Electricity and industrial demand are growing faster than the transmission and pipeline systems built to serve them can expand, while the rapid buildout of AI and data centers is placing even greater pressure on existing networks.

Weighted Average Permitting Time for Projects Varies by Sector

Source: BLM NEPA National Register; Breakthrough Institute; Columbia University; USFS NEPA Database; Council on Environmental Quality; EIS Length Database; Federal Permitting Dashboard; Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council: Baseline Performance Schedules; Federal Register: Section 404 Permits; Government Accountability Office; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; NOAA: EFH Consultation; PNAS; Stanford University; University of Utah; McKinsey & Company

Closing that gap will require developers, regulators, utilities, pipeline operators and hyperscalers to expand and modernize transmission lines and pipelines at the pace demand requires. Permitting is central to that effort. Too often, lengthy and unpredictable processes stand between a viable project and construction, making durable permitting reform essential to building the infrastructure America needs.


Mobilizing American Capital

Innovation only matters if promising technologies can reach commercial scale, which requires capital at every stage. Recent initial public offerings by companies such as advanced nuclear firm X-energy and geothermal developer Fervo Energy suggest that markets increasingly see these technologies as serious, scalable responses to rising energy demand.

Jeff McClure, Senior Advisor in the Office of Energy Dominance Financing, U.S. Department of Energy, and Tim Latimer, CEO, Fervo Energy, join a panel moderated by Hillary O’Brien, Managing Director of Clean Power, Natural Resources and Research at ClearPath.

The next challenge is strengthening the pathway from early-stage investment to commercial deployment and public markets. Private capital will remain essential, while federal financing and well-designed public-private partnerships can help reduce risk, support first-of-a-kind projects and attract additional investment. DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing is already playing that role. This year, EDF announced a $17.5 billion conditional loan commitment to accelerate the deployment of 10 large-scale nuclear reactors while leveraging significant private equity from project sponsors.


Powering America’s Next 250 Years

Rising energy demand presents a generational opportunity for the United States to innovate fast, build here in America, and sell technologies globally. Doing so will require producing more resources at home, building the infrastructure to move energy where it is needed, giving investors the certainty they need to mobilize capital and scaling American technologies at home and abroad.

Thanks to our speakers:  Senator John Curtis (R-UT); Alex Fitzsimmons, Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Andy Rapp, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Jeff McClure, Senior Advisor, Office of Energy Dominance Financing, U.S. Department of Energy; Former Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA); Savita Bowman, Program Director – Advanced Manufacturing and Carbon Innovation, ClearPath; Neil Chatterjee, Chief Government Affairs, Palmetto; Kristian Schmidt Clausen, Investment Director, AIP Management; John Dabbar, Executive Director, National Petroleum Council; Gavin Dillingham, Executive Advisor, Federal Affairs, SLB; Vishal Gupta, President & Manager, Oxy EOR Ventures; Cameron Halliday, Co-Founder and CEO, Mantel; Jeremy Harrell, CEO, ClearPath and ClearPath Action; Ariel Horowitz, Data Center Energy Lead, Anthropic; Rob Jennings, Vice President of Natural Gas Markets, API; Will Jordan, Chief Legal and Policy Officer, EQT Corporation; Ashley Kang, Senior Director, External Affairs & Communications, Grid United; Tim Latimer, CEO, Fervo Energy; Courtney Loper, Head of Government Relations and Public Affairs, EQT Corporation; Sasha Mackler, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Strategy, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions; Nicholas McMurray, Managing Director – International and Nuclear Policy, ClearPath; Hillary O’Brien, Managing Director – Clean Power, Natural Resources and Research, ClearPath; Aaron Padilla, Vice President of Corporate Policy, API; Todd Schaef, Chief Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Josh Siegel, Energy Reporter, POLITICO; Amos Snead, Founder and CEO, The DUX Group; Jack Thirolf, Head of Public Policy and External Affairs, NET Power; Alexei Viarruel, Executive Director, Power & Renewables Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan; and Rebecca Winkel, Director, Climate & Sustainability Policy, API.

 

Wall Street Is Ready To Invest In America’s Energy Future. If Washington Permits It. (The Daily Caller)

This op-ed was originally published by The Daily Caller on September 18, 2026. Click here to read the entire piece.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune just put permitting reform on the Senate agenda before Election Day. This news comes as next week, America’s leading investors, policymakers and energy developers will fill Manhattan for Climate Week NYC to advance the technologies that can meet America’s surging power demand. American innovators are transforming nuclear energy, drilling geothermal wells faster and more efficiently, and bringing once-novel energy technologies closer to commercial reality. While American technology has rapidly improved, our permitting system has not. Fixing that should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.

Wall Street has the money. American innovators have the talent and technology. Customers need the power. What is missing is a permitting system that gives investors the confidence that the government will responsibly approve vital infrastructure projects required to build the next generation of American energy.

The United States knows how to build. It took just five years to build the Hoover Dam, four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge and just over one year to build the Empire State Building. Today, obtaining a transmission line permit takes longer than a college degree.

Permitting in America currently favors those who block over those who build. Delays and hostile litigation keep capital on the sidelines, stifling American innovation and hindering the domestic energy supply chain. Investors already accept genuine risk on construction and first-of-a-kind projects. What they shouldn’t have to accept is a permitting process that piles years of needless uncertainty on top of it.

The SunZia transmission line, a 550-mile high-voltage link carrying power across New Mexico and Arizona, is just one example. It took 18 years of development to bring the project online. Construction took less than three years, while planning, review and litigation consumed 15 years.

Innovation was never the hard part; the bureaucratic process is. Advanced nuclear developers are breaking ground, geothermal companies are drilling wells that would have been unprofitable a decade ago, and carbon capture projects are ready for Final Investment Decisions. What stands between development and deployment is a federal permitting process that grinds critical infrastructure development to a halt and blocks the commercialization of new technologies. Delays that last years make projects more expensive and push critical energy investment overseas, increasing rates and risking U.S. economic and national security.

Click here to read the full article

10 NRC Rulemakings to Watch

Updated on September 2, 2026. Originally posted on April 23, 2026 by Nicholas McMurray and Natalie Houghtalen

A sweeping modernization effort is now underway at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The agency is advancing dozens of rulemakings touching nearly every aspect of the licensing process: hearings, environmental reviews, fusion, fee recovery, radiation protection, microreactors and more. This moment is not just a burst of regulatory activity. It is the convergence of sustained efforts across multiple timelines driven by years of bipartisan policy, recent executive action and more than a decade of internal NRC Commission and staff modernization activities.

That convergence matters for three reasons. First, it helps explain why the rulemaking docket feels so crowded. Second, much of the current rulemaking reflects the need to be more efficient, effective and predictable. Third, most of these rules have broad, longstanding consensus and have been in process across multiple Congresses and Administrations.

Seen that way, the current moment is about more than regulatory housekeeping. It is a test of whether the United States can translate nearly 10 years of bipartisan legislative and policy momentum into a licensing system capable of enabling predictable deployment timelines and project costs. Many of the rules initiated by one piece of legislation were also affected by subsequent legislation or executive direction. Here are the 10 rules to watch most closely:


Initiated by Federal Legislation

These rulemakings largely establish regulations for new commercial technologies such as advanced reactors, fusion machines and microreactors. A predictable, durable pathway for these technologies is necessary to enable broad deployment.

Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act of 2019 (NEIMA)

1. Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (NRC Rule Page)
2. Regulatory Framework for Fusion Machines (NRC Rule Page)

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA)

3. Implementation of FRA of 2023 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Amendments (NRC Rule Page)

Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024 (ADVANCE)

4. Licensing Requirements for Microreactors and Other Reactors with Comparable Risk Profiles (NRC Rule Page)
5. Streamlining Contested Adjudications in Licensing Proceedings (NRC Rule Page)

Initiated by Executive Order 14300

These rulemakings, initiated by EO 14300 signed in May 2025, reflect the administration’s interest in the widespread deployment of new nuclear reactors.

6. Modernizing Reactor Licensing, Safety Oversight, and Siting Practices (NRC Rule Page)
7. NRC Reviews of Reactor Designs Previously Authorized by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) or Department of War (DOW) (NRC Rule Page)
8. Reforming and Modernizing the NRC’s Radiation Protection Framework (NRC Rule Page)
9. A Focused Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) (NRC Rule Page)

Initiated Internally by the NRC

The NRC is not just reacting to outside mandates. It is also trying to reshape the broader regulatory framework on its own terms.

10. Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors

 

Amping Up the Grid: The Role of High Ampacity Conductors in Transmission Expansion

Could Enhanced Mineral Recovery Solve America’s Critical Minerals Bottleneck?

For decades, CO2 has helped America produce reliable energy here at home, reducing reliance on foreign resources and transforming the United States into a global energy leader. 

You’ve probably heard of enhanced oil recovery, or “E-O-R”. E-O-R is a method used to produce more oil from mature reservoirs. The primary approach for E-O-R is injecting carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, underground to unlock oil that would otherwise be left behind.

But what if CO2 could also help us recover something else we need: critical minerals?

Critical minerals are essential to America’s economic, energy and national security. They are used in everything from energy infrastructure and data centers to advanced manufacturing and military technologies.

And demand for minerals is growing fast. By 2040, global demand for cobalt and rare earths could grow by 50 to 60 percent, graphite and nickel demand could double, and lithium demand could more than quadruple. At the same time, many of the world’s highest-grade mineral deposits are being depleted, increasing the need for new sources of supply.

Today, critical mineral supply chains are heavily concentrated overseas. China is the top producer of 20 critical minerals and commands a 70 percent market share of global refining capacity for strategic minerals that underpin modern energy technologies. 

That means finding new ways to reshore critical mineral supply chains is essential to America’s resource independence and global competitiveness.

Luckily, American innovators are up to the task. 

U.S. national labs, universities and private companies are developing new ways to use C-O-2 to recover critical minerals from unconventional domestic resources, including low-grade ores, industrial wastes, and other underutilized mineral bearing assets. These technologies are known as Enhanced Mineral Recovery, or “E-M-R”.

E-M-R can work in a few different ways; it can happen either below ground, “in-situ” (IN SEE-CHEW), or above ground, “ex-situ” (EX SEE-CHEW). 

For below-ground methods, CO2 rich fluid is injected below the surface. The CO2 reacts with the rock, freeing the minerals and bringing them above ground. Sub-surface E-M-R could help unlock underground resources that are currently stranded, inaccessible or too low in concentration to economically recover.

Above-ground E-M-R uses CO2 to recover minerals from mined rocks or materials above the surface, like mine tailings, red mud or steel slag. These materials are often treated as waste, but actually still contain valuable minerals. In above-ground processes, a CO2-based fluid reacts with the material, dissolves the targeted minerals and allows them to be separated and recovered while converting the CO2 into a solid rock.

Enhanced Mineral Recovery can do for critical minerals what fracking and the U.S. Shale Revolution have done for oil and gas: unlock previously inaccessible resources and establish resource independence for the United States by strengthening critical mineral supply chains.

Think of it this way: The resources are here in America, the technologies are ready, and now we must unlock E-M-R at scale. 

Federal programs like the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E MINER program are supporting research into CO2-based mineral recovery methods. Across the private sector, American companies are also advancing early-stage technologies that would expand access to critical minerals at home. One example is Travertine (TRA-VER-TEEN) Technologies out of Colorado, which is using CO2 to turn industrial byproducts into valuable industrial materials.

Bringing these innovations to commercial scale will require continued federal support for research, development and demonstration. Expanded deployment of carbon capture and removal technologies could provide CO2 at scale, while additional infrastructure, such as CO2 pipelines, would enable that CO2 to be transported to where it can be put to productive use.

Investment in American innovation can leverage CO2 to recover more oil for energy production, extract critical minerals and materials needed for advanced manufacturing and defense, strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign countries. CO2 is a valuable resource, and with Enhanced Mineral Recovery, American innovators are showing how today’s untapped and overlooked resources can become tomorrow’s energy, manufacturing and national security strengths.

250 Years In, America Still Builds Here: Congressional Staff Visit Philadelphia’s Grid and Nuclear Fleet

America is asking its grid to do more than ever, and a two hundred and fifty year old tradition of innovation is how we will meet this moment. Data centers, advanced manufacturing and a wave of reindustrialization are driving the fastest jump in electricity demand in decades. As Congress considers options to address this growing demand, ClearPath’s educational series, the Clean Energy Innovation Academy (CEIA), took nine U.S. House Republican staff to the Philadelphia region to see firsthand the infrastructure powering America: the grid that moves power across state lines and the plants that generate it around the clock. At every stop, the lesson was the same. For America to lead, we must innovate fast, build here and sell globally.

The grid is where reliability is won or lost: The delegation started at PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid in North America. From its control room outside Philadelphia, PJM balances supply and demand in real time for more than 67 million people across 13 states and D.C., coordinating roughly 180 gigawatts of generating capacity, 1,400 generating sources and 88,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. First, staff received an overview of PJM’s operations, including their role in planning the regional transmission system and how they are responding to surging demand growth. Then, the group moved to the control room to observe PJM’s grid operators in action, and learned about their complex responsibilities.  Following the tour, staff participated in a discussion offering insight into how PJM’s transmission planning process works, including the role of competition in driving creative solutions and deployment of innovative grid technologies. Watching PJM staff run their system in real time drove home a point that rarely makes headlines: having transmission lines capable of bringing more power online and moving power to where it is needed can make or break grid reliability. The interconnection queue and pace of transmission development now sit at the center of whether America can meet rising demand. That makes getting the process right one of the highest-impact moves in energy policy today.

America’s nuclear fleet is a platform to build on: Following the visit to PJM, staff traveled to Constellation’s Limerick Clean Energy Center in Pottstown, PA. The nuclear power plant runs two Boiling Water Reactors that produce a combined 2.3 gigawatts of carbon-free power (enough for more than 1.7 million homes) 24/7. Constellation is the nation’s largest producer of emissions-free energy, operating 21 reactors across the country, and plants like Limerick are increasingly central to conversations about serving data centers and new factories. Limerick staff briefed the group on the basics of nuclear energy, how the plant operates, its planned uprate and Constellation’s efforts on the Three Mile Island restart. Then, they toured the plant, beginning with the outside grounds, which included the facility’s two cooling towers, spent fuel dry casks, emergency operations areas and transmission interconnection substation. They were then led inside to see the plant’s generators, turbines and control room, where they were able to discuss directly with operators on how to advance nuclear energy in the United States. With energy demand projected to grow 35 to 50 percent by 2040, plants like Limerick show how far American ingenuity can expand on a proven asset. That same expertise is the launchpad for what comes next: the new large reactors and advanced designs that will power the next era of American growth.

Innovation means modernizing the rules, not just the hardware: Technology is only half the equation. Staff also heard from innovators like Tapestry and an industry expert at R Street Institute on how the best technology in the world stalls if the rules around it do not keep up. Getting transmission planning, cost allocation, siting and interconnection right, as well as navigating an archaic permitting process, often decides whether a project ever breaks ground. Without swift action to match the speed of permitting to American innovation, the country risks leaving new generation and transmission stuck waiting rather than on the grid.

The opportunity ahead

Philadelphia is a fitting place to make the point. Two hundred fifty years after the country was founded, the question is the same one it has always been: can America build what it needs to power the next era? Constellation’s Limerick Clean Energy Center and PJM Interconnection are proof that we can, if we let America build.The path forward is to let them work, to modernize the rules and invest in the fleet and wires already delivering power, keeping American energy leadership strong at home and abroad. Innovate fast, build here, sell globally: the demand is real, and the opportunity has never been greater.

Powering the Next Generation of Energy Talent

Since 2014, ClearPath has existed to strengthen American innovation and develop solutions that reduce energy emissions. In addition to groundbreaking, forward-looking ideas, progress depends on people who can turn those ideas into tangible, durable policy. 

The ClearPath Conservative Leadership Program (CCLP) aspires to help foster, educate and place rising professionals in the offices and organizations shaping America’s energy future across Capitol Hill. Cultivating the next generation of emerging energy talent complements ClearPath’s mission to advance America’s energy leadership and deliver clean power worldwide.  

CCLP marked its third year of professional development programming with “Powering Your Energy Career: Connections and Conversations for Young Energy Professionals in Washington,” bringing together interns, fellows and early-career staff working in and around clean energy policy. Throughout the event, attendees were able to hear directly from leaders across multiple agencies and energy institutions who shared advice and lessons from their own experience in the energy sector, along with the range of career possibilities available throughout the field. 

Programming throughout the morning included a full agenda of a fireside chat, hands-on activities and an expert panel discussion. All of the sessions were designed to give the participants different perspectives on a career in energy and the importance of pursuing a career in the field.  

Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and former Congressman Greg Walden opened the day with a fireside chat on their own paths to energy leadership. Both emphasized that success as a young professional in Washington depends on a strong work ethic and the ability to adapt within an environment as fast-paced as Washington, D.C. In the discussion, Rep. Maloy reminded the audience that they do not need to have their full career path figured out, but rather show up for the work in front of them and stay open to what the journey might present.

Zack Roday, a Partner at Ascent Media, presented on professional presence and the art of the elevator pitch. He walked participants through the fundamentals that shape a strong first impression to prepare for any networking opportunity. Participants practiced these skills during a networking session which featured the opportunity to connect with representatives from ACC, CRES, AEI and C3 Solutions.

Hillary O’Brien, Managing Director of Clean Power, Natural Resources and Research at ClearPath, led the third session, Demystifying AI, which broke down data centers in plain terms: what they are, how they function and why they’ve become central to the conversation around rising power demand. This understanding will serve participants well as data centers continue to shape energy policy debates.

The day closed with a panel of speakers who have built careers across different corners of the energy field: Matthew Middleton, Principal Deputy Communications Director and Director of Research at the Department of the Interior, Lahra Walker, Special Advisor at the Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) at the Department of Energy; and Emily Johnson, Managing Director of External Affairs at ClearPath. Each spoke to their own path in and out of Capitol Hill, and the group’s consistent message was that there’s no single route into this line of work, what matters more is staying grounded in the moment and clear on what drives you once you are in it.

All three panelists started in a different place, on the Hill, in a fellowship and in the private sector, yet all three have gone on to make a real mark in the energy field. Overall, the clear message participants were able to take away from the day is, there is a space for you in the energy sector, and the spot for you is more attainable than you think.

CCLP seeks to find and place the next wave of energy talent and give them a start at turning their interest in clean energy into a career. This event and the CCLP program aim to accelerate the careers of America’s most capable emerging talent. And that is how America leads on energy innovation.

If you are on the Hill and your office would benefit from having a ClearPath fellow in your office, reach out to Dana Faught at dana@clearpath.org to learn more.

The Reactor Pilot Program is Just the Beginning

On July 4th, 2026, America celebrated its 250th birthday. Meanwhile, the nuclear industry celebrated something else: it met and exceeded a deadline many believed it couldn’t–and made history in the process.

In May 2025, President Trump directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to get at least three advanced reactors critical by Independence Day 2026. The nuclear industry is often measured in decades, not months, so this ambitious goal was met both with skepticism and excitement.

The goal turned out to be conservative. The program overshot. Four DOE-authorized test reactors achieved criticality by the deadline. Over the last month, the Antares Mark-0, Valar Atomics Ward 250, the Deployable Energy Unity and Aalo Atomics Aalo-X achieved criticality. This makes the United States the first country in history to achieve criticality in multiple unique advanced microreactor designs in a single month.

While the criticality goal made the headlines, the Reactor Pilot Program demonstrated something even more important: that private-industry-led, government-enabled programs are the fastest way to move from design to demonstration. The national labs were empowered by the May 2025 executive order to take advantage of existing statute in the Atomic Energy Act and more recent Congressional authorizations signed into law near the end of President Trump’s first term within the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Capabilities Act (NEICA). 

The Reactor Pilot Program demonstrated a new model for how the government can accelerate private innovation. The leap straight from the design table to commercial operations is one of the reasons why commercial nuclear is often plagued by technology and construction risk. Testing and iterating can mitigate these risks. These test reactors can help bridge the gap to deployment by establishing a foundation for supply chains, construction and operating procedures, fuel qualification and operating data. The reactor criticality goal, strong DOE leadership and industry-funded user facilities brought these first four test reactors online. 


Criticality is just the start.

Zero-power criticality was  technically first achieved with a pile of bricks in 1942 and many steps away from reliably delivering commercial power. It simply demonstrates that the nuclear chain reaction behaves as expected and is a milestone after the first leg of the race. The true value of these demonstrations is in the journey to achieving that milestone–reducing technological uncertainty in a way that only real-world experience can.

These reactors are not expected to be a commercial product. Historically, reactor designers have felt pressure to pursue a commercial project too early and therefore carry technical, regulatory and financial risk simultaneously into their first project. This program offered the ability to progressively derisk technology in phases.

Instead of jumping straight to commercialization, companies now have a dedicated pathway to build, operate, test, modify and improve first-of-a-kind designs under DOE authorization before pursuing commercial deployment. The main product of this program isn’t reactors, but data, experience and confidence. Validating designs, collecting operational data, training operators, and gaining project management and construction experience are all invaluable to new companies working on innovative technology, nuclear or not.


So what’s next?

The Reactor Pilot Program itself was intended as a sprint. An ambitious, time-boxed goal that would build confidence and move the ball forward on technological readiness. The next phase of this effort is the new, sustained Launch Pad initiative administered by the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). 

Launch Pad isn’t a replacement for the pilot program, but an evolution of its philosophy of innovation. Across three capabilities, Launch Pad will feature even greater opportunities for innovative companies to prototype their technology: 

Starting in 2026, the U.S. will have a dedicated platform to provide reactor developers with access to national lab expertise, dedicated testing infrastructure, and a framework for demonstrating prototypes.

Each company will have different goals and objectives through these programs. Some developers may sprint toward criticality, while others may spend more time developing a closer-to-commercial design. Not every one of these efforts will ultimately succeed, which is fine. That’s exactly how innovation should work.


Measuring Success

The achievement of this program wasn’t just meeting the criticality goal. There is, after all, still a significant amount of work to be done before that translates into commercial results. The greatest achievement is unlocking America’s ability to innovate and build. 

The revitalization of the nuclear industry has the makings of a hallmark accomplishment of the Trump administration. But to get there, eventually, prototypes will need to become commercial offerings. Companies must demonstrate reliable operation, develop repeatable manufacturing methods, build supply chains, attract private capital and secure customers. Ultimately, they need to prove they can put electrons on the grid reliably and at a competitive cost.

As these companies progress toward commercialization, the July 4, 2026 goal will be remembered not as the end of a successful program, but as the revitalization of the American nuclear innovation engine.