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.

The Lesson From 250 Years Of Powering America (Daily Caller)

This op-ed was originally published by Daily Caller on July 5, 2026. Click here to read the entire piece.

It took energy to power America’s first 250 years, and it will take energy to power the next 250 years. To meet growing global energy demand, and fulfill President Donald Trump’s American energy dominance goals, America needs its next energy revolution.

America’s success is rooted in its ability to innovate – and that same spirit is shaping the next era of energy leadership. Right now, American entrepreneurs and engineers are developing breakthroughs in LNG, nuclear energy and leveraging more than a century of oil and gas expertise to deploy geothermal energy. Other next-generation technologies are also moving forward to define the future of affordable, reliable and clean energy. (RELATED: America’s Energy Dominance: The Fruit Of Freedom On Our 250th) 

Here’s the roadmap: innovate fast, build here, sell globally.

In 1912, LNG arrived on the scene when the first LNG plant was built in West Virginia. Almost a century later, advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing sparked the “Shale Revolution” in 2008, unlocking vast domestic natural gas reserves, making the U.S. the world’s top producer, and laying the foundation for its modern LNG export industry. In 2022, the U.S. became the largest LNG exporter in the world.

Today, the LNG industry supports 495,000 well-paying American jobs. Here’s another way to look at it: since 2016, the U.S. has supplied enough LNG to power the energy use of about 400 million people globally. A stunning number over 100 years in the making. 

Can you imagine the U.S. without the shale revolution? The loss of wealth, jobs, and security for our country would be staggering – not to mention the opportunity to reduce global emissions by replacing higher-emitting foreign fuels with U.S. LNG, which is among the lowest-carbon, natural gas options on Earth.

Building on success and lessons from the past, it’s time for America to set its sights on future horizons as electricity demand will surge by 50% over the next two decades in the U.S. alone. Just as the LNG revolution drove America’s energy security during the first quarter of the 21st century, new sources of power generation will need to be commercialized at scale to drive American jobs and energy dominance through the rest of the century.

Click here to read the full article

Carbon Dioxide Removal 101

Interconnection 101: Clearing the Path for New Power

The United States must rapidly deploy new sources of reliable, affordable, and clean power to meet rising electricity demand from data centers, industrial growth, and the electrification of multiple sectors. Whether the power comes from nuclear, natural gas, geothermal, or other sources, every new project must navigate the grid interconnection process, which is the biggest bottleneck for deploying all types of infrastructure. 

Interconnection is the process of connecting a new energy facility to the electric grid. You can think of the interconnection process in two steps: first, a study, and second, the physical connection for commercial operation.

In the first step, grid operators study how a proposed project will affect electricity flows across the entire grid system, assess reliability impacts, and determine whether grid upgrades are needed and their costs. These can include building new transmission lines, rebuilding transmission lines to be higher voltage, or reconductoring of existing lines, as well as deploying new equipment at substations or onto other parts of the system to ensure reliability. The interconnection study process takes over three years on average, with some parts of the country taking nearly five years on average. Then, step two, the actual physical connection, can take an additional two to four years. This inefficient process results in less than 20% of proposed projects reaching commercial operation.

Interconnection is Slowing Down Energy Addition

Source: LBNL. (2026). Queued Up 2026 Data File.

The main cause of this bottleneck is a disconnect between three critical processes:

  1. Generation interconnection, which brings electricity supply onto the grid.
  2. Demand (Load) interconnection, which connects electricity consumers and increases system demand.
  3. Transmission planning, which evaluates and identifies the grid infrastructure needed to ensure reliability, reduce congestion, and meet future energy needs.

These processes are deeply interdependent, yet they are often planned and executed in isolation. This misalignment leads to delays, higher costs, and missed opportunities to efficiently align supply, demand, and infrastructure.

Addressing these challenges requires a multi-pronged approach that can:

  1. Maximize existing grid capacity;
  2. Integrate transmission planning with generation and load growth; and
  3. Leverage innovation to accelerate studies and grid connection

Together, these reforms can help unlock the full potential of the existing project pipeline, reduce timelines, and ensure the grid can support continued economic growth. Addressing siting, permitting, and supply chain bottlenecks will also be essential to building a grid capable of meeting rising demand.

1. Maximize existing grid capacity

Making better use of the existing grid is one of the fastest, lowest-cost ways to bring new power online. Instead of waiting years for new transmission to be built, there are other ways projects can connect to and use the grid. Three approaches can tap into existing capacity to make their electrons available to the grid faster: energy-only service, surplus interconnection service, and generator replacement.

  1. Energy-only transmission service
    Some energy projects seek full deliverability of their power on the transmission system, meaning they reserve capacity and are willing to pay for the infrastructure to support delivery. Other projects, however, may be willing to accept energy-only transmission service, allowing them to deliver power when transmission capacity is available, without firm capacity rights.

    The benefit of this energy-only service is that these projects can connect to the grid without needing major network upgrades, which lowers costs and speeds up the connection process. However, these projects take on the risk that the system is full or congested, and their energy is therefore curtailed. ERCOT successfully uses this model, enabling faster, higher project completion rates for all types of energy technologies.In other regions, however, grid operators often study these projects as if they seek deliverability, triggering unnecessary upgrades that increase costs and timelines. Aligning studies to project service needs can unlock faster, lower-cost connections. Projects can also transition from energy-only service to having full deliverability over time, allowing them to operate while upgrades are being built.
  2. Surplus interconnection
    Most interconnection points are underutilized because generators don’t run at full capacity all of the time, or even most of the time. For example, over 200 GW of generation on the grid today is designed to serve peak load periods, meaning that for much of the year, these points of interconnection are underutilized. Co-locating new projects, such as natural gas peakers, with existing solar projects can maximize use of this infrastructure, avoiding grid upgrades and saving time and costs. Streamlining these requests and proactively identifying opportunities can further accelerate energy deployment.
  1. Generator replacement
    When an existing energy project retires, the point of interconnection it utilized and any capacity rights should be expeditiously reallocated to a new project or projects. Proactively developing the procedure is the critical first step and should be designed to prioritize projects that fully utilize capacity and can be rapidly built and connected. By minimizing the time this grid capacity remains underutilized, transmission providers can ensure resource adequacy needs are met and that efficient market entry and exit are achieved, thereby promoting affordability.

    Transmission providers can also consider allowing replacement projects to be located somewhere other than the retiring plant, provided the new location offers electrically equivalent grid access and capacity rights. The Midwest Independent System Operator made this change last year.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has laid the groundwork for these interconnection pathways through Order 2023, which updated the interconnection process in 2023 to operate in a first-ready, first-served study process for clusters of projects, and Order 845, which established surplus interconnection service in 2018. However, implementation by utilities and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) can lead to study approaches and processes that inhibit their effective use, leaving prime speed to power opportunities off the table. In response, some RTOs have proactively amended their implementation of surplus interconnection service to remove barriers and accelerate energy additions, and more utilities and RTOs should follow suit to address reliability and affordability.

Additionally, FERC can identify and direct utilities and RTOs to remedy deficiencies that are unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential through a Federal Power Act Section 206 proceeding. This approach enables FERC to identify specific deficiencies in a utility’s or RTO’s procedures and require revisions to address them, promoting more just and reasonable rates and regulations. It is faster than rulemaking and can improve these pathways to remove market barriers, helping get more electrons onto the grid faster.

2. Integrate transmission planning with generation and load growth

The siloing of interconnection processes from transmission planning is a core challenge. Today, information about the timing and cost of transmission and other network upgrades comes after a project enters the interconnection process and at the end of the multi-year long study process. This incentivizes developers to submit many projects, knowing that most will be withdrawn when they realize it will take too long or cost too much to interconnect a project. This creates delays and restudies for other projects whose study results are interdependent with other projects in the queue. Integrating information about the cost of connecting into the transmission system and when that capacity will be available at the beginning of the interconnection process can reduce uncertainty and enable more efficient allocation of scarce grid capacity.

Allocating this capacity can take many forms, such as project scoring criteria, entry-fee models, or open seasons. Regardless of the specific method different utilities or grid operators pursue, it’s essential to allocate capacity on a technology-neutral basis to projects that meet strict commercial-readiness requirements and financial commitments to accelerate energy deployment. These can include take-or-pay provisions for transmission capacity to reflect that projects will have greater certainty about timing and cost for interconnection. They could also eliminate grace periods for energy projects to reach commercial operation after the interconnection agreement is reached. This would help ensure that projects that are not commercially ready to build within three years of getting the go-ahead don’t prevent others from using available transmission capacity.

Proactive transmission planning is also essential. As demand grows, new transmission, not just generation, is required to maintain reliability and move power to customers. Equally important is coordinating generation and load interconnection. Today, they are studied separately, missing opportunities for shared infrastructure. In Ohio, for example, a 1.5 GW gas plant withdrew after facing $1.3 billion in grid upgrade costs, even as data center growth drove similar transmission needs in the region. An integrated approach could align investments, lower costs, and improve certainty for both generators and large loads.

Grid Access Impacts Connection Speed

This approach to interconnection is similar to how runners organize themselves for a race. Assuming all projects are prepared for the race with their permits, site control, equipment and workforce contracts, and financial offtake ready to go, the projects that run faster will be those that can more quickly connect to the grid at their desired service level. The fastest projects would be those seeking energy-only service, surplus interconnection service, or generator replacement. Projects that can utilize existing transmission capacity or are planning to build in areas where new transmission capacity is under development may move at a more moderate pace. Meanwhile, projects that want full transmission deliverability but will need new infrastructure to be studied, planned, and built to meet their needs will move more slowly. By sorting projects by how quickly they can obtain their desired grid access and aligning their interconnection process to reflect only the studies and steps necessary to support their desired grid access, more energy can be added to the grid efficiently.

Grid operators can follow in California and SPP’s lead in prioritizing the efficient allocation of existing and forthcoming transmission capacity to provide greater cost and timing certainty to energy projects. FERC could also initiate a rulemaking to streamline interconnection processes for projects seeking full deliverability into areas with existing or forthcoming transmission capacity. This proceeding could also break down silos across large-load and generation interconnections to identify more efficient, cost-effective grid solutions.

3. Leverage innovation to accelerate studies and grid connection

Modernizing interconnection studies through automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is a clear near-term opportunity. Today, engineers spend significant time manually validating and updating data, creating and solving models, identifying grid upgrades to address constraints, and generating reports on the studies. Because these steps are fragmented and completed manually, they introduce more opportunities for human error and make replicating results challenging and time-consuming. Automation can dramatically reduce timelines. For example, the regional transmission operator in the Midwest, MISO, demonstrated how automation reduced its Phase One study from 686 days to 10 days, or from two years to just over one week. These time savings were made while achieving over 99% accuracy and minimal changes in the estimated grid upgrade costs for projects. In addition to the benefits of automation, new software tools leverage more advanced computational processes that can drastically reduce the time it takes to complete computations. All together, these tools allow engineers to spend more time applying their expertise than conducting manual data and model manipulation.

In addition to AI and automation, data-sharing must also improve. Today’s fragmented, email-based exchanges of information create delays due to the lack of timely access to accurate and up-to-date system information, leading to restudies. Notably, MISO’s computer systems completed the analysis in only 0.3 days, indicating a significant opportunity to further reduce study time through improved data-sharing practices. 

Scaling these tools nationwide could transform interconnection timelines. While some operators have begun adopting them, all transmission providers should prioritize deploying software that improves speed, cost, and accuracy. FERC could require all transmission providers to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for software tools that improve the speed, cost, and accuracy of interconnection study processes. Utilities and RTOs will be able to evaluate all innovations on the market and select the tools that best fit their needs, or demonstrate that their current process and toolset are sufficient.

Another opportunity to better leverage innovations is in the deployment of advanced transmission technologies to upgrade the grid for new energy projects. Today, FERC regulations only require transmission providers to evaluate alternative transmission technologies that can enhance the performance of the existing infrastructure or replace existing equipment to increase capacity and efficiency, such as through reconductoring with advanced conductors. Transmission providers have sole discretion over whether to actually implement them. This means lower-cost, faster solutions may be underutilized.

To better support economic growth and lower consumer bills, FERC could update regulations to require providers to use these alternative technologies whenever they offer time or cost savings and meet all reliability standards. Furthermore, interconnection customers, who pay for network upgrades, should have the right to choose a solution so long as it meets all reliability standards.

Conclusion

Energy demand is growing, and the grid is not keeping pace. Growing the grid and addressing inefficient interconnection processes is crucial to economic growth, reliability, and energy affordability. These recommendations will let American energy move.

Unleashing U.S. Energy: Lessons from Japan

Energy security doesn’t just power economies; it defines alliances. Few nations understand this better than Japan. With scarce domestic resources and deep import dependence, the country knows firsthand how vulnerable it is to global supply shocks, making energy security a national imperative. ClearPath’s educational series, the Clean Energy Innovation Academy (CEIA), took nine U.S. Senate Republican staff to Japan to see that commitment firsthand. At every stop, the case for American energy leadership was clear and demonstrated why the United States must innovate fast, build here and sell globally.

U.S. Senate Staff pictured with U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass. [L-R]: Micah Chambers, Dan Horning, Lucas Da Pieve, Chris Prandoni, Wendy Baig, Jake McCurdy, Ambassador Glass, Joshua Sizemore, Jeremy Harrell, Duncan Rankin, Alicia Badley

Key takeaways:

American LNG is essential for Japan: American liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a critical piece of Japan’s energy mix, and American technology is woven throughout Japan’s energy systems. Standing inside JERA Futtsu Thermal Power station, one of Japan’s largest natural gas power plants, the scale of U.S. involvement was on full display. GE Vernova turbines manufactured in Greenville, South Carolina, drive the bulk of the more than 5,000 megawatts powering the Tokyo metropolitan area. The fuel feeding those turbines is increasingly American, too. The U.S. currently supplies roughly 10 percent of Japan’s total LNG imports, and with U.S. export capacity projected to nearly double by 2031, the U.S. is well-positioned to expand that share. As Japan continues to prioritize energy security and diversify its supply base, the U.S. is a natural partner, offering LNG that is reliable, affordable and strategically aligned with the interests of both nations.

he ClearPath team and U.S. Senate staff pictured at the JERA Futtsu Thermal Power Station.

Japan is backing American energy: Japan has committed $550 billion in investment into U.S. strategic industries, with roughly $300 billion directed toward energy, including LNG, grid modernization and nuclear development. Conversations with senior officials across the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Ministry of Environment (MOE) reinforced that this capital flows here because our allies trust American reliability and see the U.S. as their partner of choice on energy. The energy policy decisions in Washington, D.C. carry weight far beyond U.S. borders.

Nuclear fuel independence is a long-term investment: The Rokkasho Nuclear Fuel Complex, operated by Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited, is one of the most significant energy infrastructure projects in the world, bringing together uranium enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication and low-level waste management in a single facility. It represents Japan’s commitment to a closed nuclear fuel cycle and taking control of its own energy future. Japan has no domestic uranium, yet rather than remain vulnerable to the geopolitical risks of import dependence, the country has spent decades building the industrial capacity to maximize and reuse what it imports. The U.S. has the potential to pursue a similar path, with growing investments in domestic uranium enrichment and used fuel management pointing toward long-term nuclear energy independence. Rokkasho paints a vivid picture of what that long-term commitment looks like in practice.

The ClearPath team and U.S. Senate staff pictured at the Rokkasho Nuclear Fuel Complex.

Nuclear power is making a comeback in Japan: Fukushima Daiichi has defined Japan’s energy story for over a decade. In the aftermath of the 2011 disaster, Japan stepped back from nuclear power, but the economic and energy security costs of that decision proved too significant to sustain. Today, Japan is recommitting to nuclear as an essential part of its energy future, and its partnership with the U.S. is central to that effort. American nuclear technology, expertise and regulatory standards have long set the global benchmark, and the opportunity to deepen that leadership has never been greater.

Strategic export financing drives energy leadership: Japan has modernized its export and investment financing to prioritize strategic sectors, with energy and supply chain resilience at the core of that effort. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) plays a central role in financing and facilitating those investments, helping to move strategic projects from ambition to reality. That enhanced capacity makes JBIC the tip of the spear in driving the investment deals that underpin the broader U.S.-Japan Strategic Investment Initiative. The upcoming reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) presents a critical opportunity for the U.S. to take a more strategic approach to its own export financing. Done right, it creates the flexibility American energy projects need to compete and win in global markets.

U.S.-Japan industry partnerships are delivering real results: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) exemplifies what U.S.-Japan private sector collaboration looks like at its best. As AI data centers and industrial expansion drive electricity demand, innovation and industrial competitiveness have become shared priorities for both nations. MHI’s carbon capture technology is deployed globally, including at the Petra Nova project in Texas, and MHI has invested in Fervo Energy, a U.S.-based enhanced geothermal startup, signaling a shared interest in geothermal as a critical baseload resource. These are not one-sided arrangements; they are cutting-edge technologies developed through a partnership that creates value for both countries. With American electricity demand projected to grow 35 to 50 percent by 2040, every reliable and affordable baseload source matters, and U.S.-Japan industry partnerships are well-positioned to deliver at the scale the moment demands.

The opportunity ahead

Japan invested deliberately in technology, alliances and industrial capacity to secure its energy future – a remarkable achievement for a nation with scarce domestic resources. The U.S. has every advantage Japan lacks: abundant natural gas, uranium reserves and geothermal potential, backed by a private sector that consistently leads the world in energy innovation.

What emerged is a partnership built on mutual interest. Japan is investing to scale technologies in both countries while the U.S. is well positioned to be the world’s energy solutions provider; the demand is real, and the opportunity to innovate fast, build here and sell globally has never been greater.

 

 

American Chemical Innovation Can Secure Supply Chain Independence

The Strait of Hormuz is not just a key shipping corridor for oil; it is a critical artery for the transportation of chemicals like fertilizers, sulfuric acid and plastics. The recent disruptions in the Strait show that while supply chain volatility creates economic and strategic risks for the United States, it also presents an opportunity to let America do what it does best: innovate fast. American innovators are creating critical, clean technologies to address the current vulnerabilities in the chemical supply chain, but they need supportive industrial innovation policy to scale these technologies.

History has shown that robust industrial policy has already helped the U.S. innovate around supply chain challenges again and again. Targeted public investments enabled the shale gas revolution, transforming the U.S. into the world’s top natural gas producer and insulating the country from global energy shocks.

On the chemicals front, however, the U.S. is not completely insulated:

The U.S. has a unique opportunity to accelerate chemical manufacturing innovation from the lab to commercialization, which requires industry investment and bipartisan policy support. 

American innovators are already doing their part to develop next-generation production methods that reduce import reliance, reduce emissions and strengthen supply chains. To understand the scale of the opportunity ahead, it helps to examine three essential chemicals now facing mounting supply and production pressures: fertilizers, sulfuric acid and plastics. 

Fertilizers for Agriculture

Disruptions in the Strait have affected one-third of the fertilizers traded by sea, specifically nitrogen-based chemicals such as ammonia and urea. Nitrogen-based fertilizer prices are up over 30% from 2025, a market signal that Strait disruptions are no longer a distant shipping problem, but a cost impacting the agriculture sector. Alternative ports cannot sufficiently offset this supply, especially during the spring planting season when demand spikes.

In Texas, HyCO1 is unlocking new feedstocks to create hydrogen, a key building block for fertilizers. Their drop-in catalyst allows hydrogen producers to use CO2 and methane in existing production systems. This gives producers a lower-emissions, more flexible way to make this critical ingredient for fertilizers. FUEL, the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana program supported by the National Science Foundation, has partnered with HyCO1, exemplifying how federal RD&D programs can help innovators improve their drop-in solutions and quickly reach industrial producers.

Sulfuric Acid for Industry and Technology

Sulfuric acid is the most manufactured chemical in the world, and Gulf countries produce more than 24% of the seaborne traded supply. Manufacturers use it in batteries, petrochemical refining and critical minerals processing for copper and zinc, key inputs for America’s AI infrastructure and energy security. A shortage could ripple across the industrial base, and to prepare for these impacts, China has restricted its sulfuric acid exports, and other countries are moving to secure supply.

In New York, Travertine is creating a domestic, resilient source of sulfuric acid. Its electrolysis and recycling technology effectively turns industrial byproducts into valuable ingredients for manufacturing. At Travertine’s demonstration plant, the company captures CO2 from the air to use as a feedstock, processing the CO2 and local gypsum rock into sulfuric acid. Recognizing the benefits of this innovation, ARPA-E has partnered with Travertine to refine these technologies for critical minerals recovery. 

While China is facing shortages and restricting sulfuric acid exports, the U.S. is creating new pathways to turn its industrial waste into valuable resources, and federal RD&D resources would provide the support needed to scale these technologies.

Plastics for Consumer Goods

Petrochemicals are the building blocks of plastics, and Gulf countries now export both the petrochemicals and plastic polymers used in everyday goods. While the U.S. still leads in clean petrochemical production, today’s supply disruptions, combined with higher crude oil prices, are driving up the price of plastics.

In Tennessee, Trillium Renewable Chemicals is manufacturing homegrown, biobased acrylonitrile, a key petrochemical used in plastics, carbon fiber, and rubber goods. Trillium’s biobased process supports American farmers and avoids the impact of crude oil price swings, helping keep these goods affordable and made in America. The Department of Energy (DOE) was one of the first investors in Trillium’s technology, and now private dollars have followed. Trillium has completed a $13.3 million raise for its first commercial-scale demonstration plant, demonstrating the value of DOE’s tactical investments to accelerate technologies from the lab to demonstration.

Federal Policy Can Unlock Innovative Chemical Manufacturing

While the Energy Act of 2020, signed into law by President Trump, modernized industrial innovation policy for the first time in over a decade, these authorizations will soon expire. Congress has the opportunity to renew Congressional direction authorizing industrial research and development and dedicated resources for chemical innovation. With the help of these policies, America can turn today’s chemical supply shock into tomorrow’s manufacturing advantage, creating lower-emissions products at home and selling them to the world.