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

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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.

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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.

 

 

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:

• Fertilizer price increases are affecting farmers’ budgets during spring planting, when fertilizer accounts for roughly one-third of input costs.
• Sulfuric acid shortages could threaten industrial and critical minerals projects needed for America’s AI dominance and grid security.
• Petrochemical production disruptions are causing price spikes that could ripple across consumer goods.

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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

This summer, Governors will have a unique opportunity to bolster clean, firm energy deployment in their states through Opportunity Zone designations. Selected strategically, these designations can overlap in areas eligible for additional clean energy tax incentives, improving the economics of advanced nuclear and geothermal projects. The result would be more investment in clean, reliable power that can drive economic growth and grid reliability for decades to come. Multiple federal tax credits can now be utilized in an Opportunity Zone to amplify their impact.

Opportunity Zones are a bipartisan policy first championed by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) that provide tax incentives for investments made in economically distressed census tracts. The 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts built on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by making Opportunity Zones a permanent part of the tax code. Starting in July 2026, Governors have 90 days to determine which of their state’s eligible census tracts will receive this designation. The choices will last a decade and create durable signals for investors.

The Working Families Tax Cuts also preserved and strengthened Section 48E investment and Section 45Y production clean energy tax credits, reflecting a Republican commitment to supporting innovative, dispatchable clean technologies such as advanced nuclear and geothermal. Built into those credits are two place-based bonuses that direct investment toward communities with existing energy infrastructure and workforce capacity. First, the Energy Community bonus adds 10% to the tax credit value for projects located in areas with significant fossil fuel employment and above-average unemployment, near retired coal mines or coal-fired power plants, or on brownfield sites. These are regions where new clean energy development can build on existing grid connections, skilled labor, and industrial land. Second, the new Nuclear Energy Community designation under the 45Y production tax credit adds an additional 10% to advanced nuclear projects in metropolitan areas with established nuclear workforces and supply chains.

Taken together, these three federal incentives, including Opportunity Zones, the Energy Community adder, and the Nuclear Community adder, can now be jointly utilized on a single site. Based on published IRS data and ClearPath’s internal analysis, thousands of census tracts are likely to qualify for all three, but only if Governors take action this summer. These tracts deserve close attention from developers, investors, and state energy offices ahead of the July designation window. Here’s how the three incentives compare:

Why the Combination Matters

Each incentive reduces the cost of a new nuclear project in a different way. Opportunity Zones make it cheaper to attract private investment, as investors who put capital gains into a qualifying project can defer and reduce the taxes they owe on those gains, making the investment more attractive compared to alternatives outside Opportunity Zones. The Energy Community bonus directly increases the tax credit value of each megawatt-hour produced or dollar invested in a new energy project, while the Nuclear Energy Community bonus increases the tax credit value of each megawatt-hour produced by advanced nuclear energy projects. When all three apply to a census tract, they combine to meaningfully reduce the cost of capital for advanced nuclear, one of the most significant barriers to building American nuclear power.

Where do these tax incentives overlap?

Our analysis finds that 3,662 census tracts across 32 states may qualify for all three credits. These locations are found in the Rust Belt, the Tennessee Valley, the Carolinas, the Western Gulf Coast, and pockets of Southern California. These locations have the construction trades, fuel cycle facilities, research and development facilities, and a manufacturing base for advanced nuclear in addition to a broader history and growing presence of energy-centric industries. Opportunity Zone designations this summer create the rare opportunity to utilize three federal tax benefits on the same site.

We also pulled the broader overlays: tracts where Opportunity Zone eligibility intersects with the Energy Community Bonus alone, 8,401 tracts in 46 states relevant to all types of clean energy projects, and with the Nuclear Energy Community designation alone, 10,782 tracts in 40 states with advanced nuclear-ready metros. Together, the layers show Governors where their designations can do double or triple duty, driving private investment in reliable, dispatchable clean energy projects like advanced nuclear and geothermal that strengthen both local economies and grid reliability.

The Bottom Line

Demand growth from emerging industries like AI and the revitalization of manufacturing represents a generational opportunity to bring economic development to communities across the country. Governors have 90 days, starting July 1, to designate Opportunity Zones that spur the development of clean, dispatchable power in their states. The map shows where to start.

Sources

Opportunity Zones
Census tracts eligible for designation as an Opportunity Zone must meet income and poverty-level criteria calculated from the American Community Survey. The most recent data was published in 2026, and the 2026 Opportunity Zone designations are available here.

Energy Communities 
Census tracts that qualify for this bonus due to a coal closure do not change year-to-year, except when new coal plants close. Census tracts that qualify on the basis of employment (whether in the fossil industry or the overall employment level) change yearly, and the Treasury Department publishes new files as data becomes available. Both datasets are available here. Census tracts with brownfield sites would also qualify for this bonus, but we do not include them here because the majority of qualifying brownfields sites are not registered in EPA’s database.

Nuclear Energy Communities
Treasury has not yet released guidance on the Nuclear Energy Communities, so the eligible regions shown above reflect ClearPath’s interpretation and analysis of authorizing language in the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act. We used developer profiles from the Gateway for Advanced Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) and supply chain data from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to identify the universe of companies and facilities that could meet the qualification requirements for a Nuclear Energy Community. Due to poor data, we were unable to estimate employment levels at these companies and facilities as would be required by the authorizing language. The regions shown on the map should be interpreted as MSAs that could potentially qualify for the Nuclear Energy Communities bonus, pending further data collection and Treasury guidance.

 

Speaking before a joint session of the United States Congress this week, King Charles III delivered a pointed message: “Our alliance cannot rest on past achievements.” Nowhere is that more true than in energy.  The next chapter of the U.S.-UK relationship is being written right now, not in ink, but in megawatts, reactor designs and critical mineral supply chains.

A partnership that is producing results

Last September’s Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy was a watershed moment. Not just another diplomatic communiqué, but a commitment to American energy dominance and British industrial revival. By targeting a reduction in reactor licensing timelines from four years to two, the U.S. and UK are finally removing the regulatory anchors that have held back private capital from nuclear for decades.

U.S. companies have already responded:

• Amentum recently won a $406 million contract as Owner’s Engineer for the UK’s first SMR fleet at Wylfa in Wales. 
• X-energy is partnering with Centrica to deploy advanced modular reactors at Hartlepool, targeting up to 6 GW of new nuclear capacity. 
• Holtec and EDF UK are advancing to bring SMR-300s to the former Cottam power station in Nottinghamshire.

These projects are more than infrastructure; they are early signals of a deeper alignment. They prove that American energy leadership depends on a simple, relentless operating model. Innovate fast, build here and sell into global markets.

The stakes: Competing with state-owned rivals

Innovation is important, and the U.S. and U.K. are some of the best at it. But ultimately, leadership is measured in what gets built. The nuclear race is a zero-sum game. Since 2000, Russia and China have built 64 reactors just in their own countries, with another 31 either built or under construction around the globe. In the same time, U.S. companies have built seven, and the U.K. has built none. Every reactor sale locks in a strategic relationship for up to a century. If the U.S. and UK don’t lead, Beijing and Moscow will.

China and Russia Are Winning the Global Reactor Race

Source: Internal ClearPath Tracking

China’s massive state subsidies and standardized designs have already made it the partner of choice for many developing nations. That does not mean that we need to out-subsidize China; we can out-innovate. The U.S.-UK partnership offers a credible alternative. Better technology, greater transparency and the backing of the world’s two most mature capital markets, dynamic private sectors and trusted nuclear regulators. That’s a compelling case, but only if American firms can compete on financing and speed, not just technology.

From framework to foundation

The Atlantic Partnership and other complementary efforts like the U.S.-UK Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2026 are strong starts, but frameworks without permanent legal architecture can be unwound. The next logical step is a formal energy security agreement with the U.S.-UK trade framework solidifying energy at its core.

This means three concrete things:

• Regulatory reciprocity: The NRC and the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation signed a renewed and expanded MOU in September 2025, targeting reactor design reviews within two years and site licensing within one. The technical groundwork is already laid. What’s missing is the legislative capstone, a formal mutual recognition lane, codified in statute, that makes U.S. and UK reactor designs the democratic world’s default.
• Competitive export finance: Congress must reauthorize the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) before its charter expires on December 31, 2026. A formal agreement could allow EXIM and UK Export Finance to pool risk, ensuring American firms can compete on the balance sheet, not just the technology.
• A unified fuel cycle: An agreement should formalize a shared HALEU and critical minerals market. Coordinated enrichment capacity and allied procurement preferences build a Fortress Atlantic that locks hostile competitors out for good. An urgent imperative as the U.S. moves to end reliance on Russian-origin enriched uranium.

The messenger and the moment

As King Charles III reminded Congress this week, quoting President Lincoln, “the world may little know what we say but will never forget what we do.” 250 years ago, America declared independence from Britain. Now both nations have the chance to declare something new. Share independence from global energy volatility. That declaration won’t be signed with a quill. It will be built by American companies, in allied markets, locked in by the permanent legal architecture that no future administration can quietly unwind.

 

Let America Innovate, Build, and Sell

America’s energy landscape is being reshaped at an unprecedented pace. A new wave of energy demand from data centers, advanced manufacturing, LNG exports, electrification and the reality of aging energy infrastructure are driving an intense need for more power. At the same time, global competition is intensifying. To keep energy costs down, reshore American manufacturing and lead the world in an AI-driven future, we must build more and strengthen the energy system to deliver reliable, affordable, secure power. This is essential to our national, economic and energy security.

To win in the new era of energy demand and global competitiveness, ClearPath’s 2026 priorities follow a simple playbook: let America innovate, build and sell.

Scale Innovation and Technology

America’s success is driven by the ability to accelerate innovative technologies from the lab to the market, strengthening energy security at home and around the world. The key ingredients to this success are a robust research and development (R&D) framework across technologies, targeted investments in clean, firm technologies like advanced nuclear, fusion, enhanced geothermal and support for innovation in industrial materials needed for infrastructure. Congress has an opportunity to advance these policies by:

• Enacting comprehensive geothermal legislation that modernizes leasing and permitting frameworks as described in our December 2025 Geothermal Report.
• Reauthorizing DOE’s expiring programs for industrial manufacturing that President Trump signed into law as part of the Energy Act of 2020.
• Providing dedicated DOE RD&D programs to support concrete and asphalt as well as chemicals and refining innovation.
• Enacting next-generation pipeline legislation to support innovations that modernize pipeline infrastructure integrity, efficiency and development.
• Expanding the 45X tax credit to include manufacturing for other clean energy supply chain components, like advanced nuclear fission, fusion, advanced conductoring and geothermal components.

Modernize Permitting and the Grid

To let America build, we need a permitting process that is predictable, efficient and fair, combined with a strong grid that can meet rising demand with affordable, reliable and secure power.

Comprehensive permitting reform that delivers certainty and speed while preserving environmental safeguards begins with:

• Modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); 
• Reforming NEPA judicial review and litigation practices; 
• Increasing transparency through digital tools; and
• Providing permit certainty once permits have been issued.

The House’s December 2025 bipartisan passage of the SPEED Act and ePermit Act addressing NEPA and transparency issues respectively is a good first step. Permitting reform goes beyond updating NEPA. Statutes like the Clean Water Act (CWA) should be reviewed to eliminate unnecessary delays, which the House addressed by passing the Permit Act in December 2025. The Senate has the opportunity to build on this progress and deliver a bipartisan deal that clarifies the scope of NEPA, updates the CWA, reduces frivolous project litigation risk and ensures legal certainty to lawfully granted permits.

A reliable, affordable and resilient grid is the foundation of our economy, national security and way of life. Investments in the grid are not just energy policy, they are economic and national security imperatives that will drive American growth for decades. Modernizing America’s grid starts by:

• Leveraging Innovation: Deploy new technologies to optimize the existing grid, like advanced conductors, dynamic line ratings and updated software and hardware for grid control. Strategic incentives and more robust information sharing can also help more quickly derisk technology.
• Speeding Up Interconnection: Maximize the use of existing interconnection capacity. Prioritize cost-effective upgrades. Streamline the interconnection queue process by focusing first on areas with reliability needs or existing transmission capacity to enhance efficiency and bring more projects online faster.
• Building More Transmission: Every energy source relies on transmission. Meeting growing energy demand requires improved federal permitting processes, reduced litigation risks and stronger coordination among states on new transmission lines and regional grid planning. A modernized federal backstop authority, used only as a last resort, can help ensure critical transmission projects are completed.
• Ensuring Fair Cost Allocation: Consumers must be protected by ensuring that project costs are paid by those who receive reliability and economic benefits, not by customers who receive little or no benefit.

In addition to ensuring a strong grid, modernized and reliable pipeline infrastructure for U.S. LNG and carbon dioxide transportation is critical to letting American energy move.

Lead in the Global Market

American energy dominance is built on a foundation where U.S. technologies, materials and standards lead in global markets. Congress’ reauthorization of the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in the December 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will help unlock private capital for strategic energy and industrial projects abroad. In 2026, Congress can further enhance America’s global market leadership by:

• Reauthorizing and enhancing the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to strengthen its ability to pursue large-scale, American-made energy infrastructure projects, including advanced nuclear. EXIM’s charter is set to expire at the end of 2026. Three ways to strengthen EXIM include: establishing a National Interest Account that modernizes EXIM’s risk assessment framework, raising the Bank’s default rate cap and expanding the list of eligible energy technologies under its China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP) to better focus EXIM’s investments on national strategic objectives.
• Establishing a framework for Energy Security Compacts (ESCs), as proposed by the DOMINANCE Act, to create the coordinated, whole-of-government approach needed to bolster U.S. energy exports, enhance national security and provide alternatives to Chinese and Russian energy investments in strategic partner nations. ESCs would create long-term agreements with clear, measurable outcomes targeting energy security and infrastructure. They would also enhance coordination across federal authorities and multiply capabilities at EXIM, DFC, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Department of Energy (DOE). ESCs could also help foster bilateral partnerships that focus on joint energy and critical minerals security priorities centered on American foreign policy goals.

In order for America to lead the world and strengthen its economy and national security, we need policies designed for speed, certainty and scale. We look forward to working to secure effective, durable solutions to let America innovate here, build here and sell everywhere.

 

Fusion energy, generated by combining atoms like hydrogen, has the potential to supply enormous amounts of clean energy. Decades of research have brought this technology to the precipice of first-of-a-kind commercial deployment. Today, there are 45 fusion energy companies in the United States, and several of them are aiming to build a commercially viable fusion power plant between 2030 and 2035. If America leads the way in deploying this technology, we could establish a new manufacturing industry, new long-term energy partnerships and trade agreements, and a foundation for global energy dominance.

Without investments in public-private partnerships and a resilient domestic supply chain, America risks ceding leadership to its foreign adversaries. China is investing at least $1.5 billion annually in fusion, although some reports suggest significantly more, and already possesses robust supply chains for power electronics, forged parts and the advanced materials necessary to commercialize this technology. Similarly, allied nations like Germany and the UK are also investing huge sums, with Germany investing over $2 billion by 2029 and the UK investing around $3 billion over the next five years.

The Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy (CSFE), led by Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Ylli Bajraktari, the President of the Special Competitive Studies Project, published a report that lays out a plan to ensure the United States acts with purpose to capitalize on this technology. The CSFE report outlines a list of three strategic actions the U.S needs to win the fusion race:

• Issue an Executive Order recognizing fusion as a national security priority;
• Provide $10 billion to drive commercialization and expand research and development;
• Expand interagency and private sector collaboration and take strategic action, such as expanding infrastructure and funding existing programs like the Department of Defense (DoD) Milestone-Based Fusion Program.

The DOE Office of Science released its Fusion Science & Technology Roadmap, which sets a national strategy to accelerate the deployment of commercial fusion power by the mid-2030s. The roadmap outlines three core pillars that are essential to American fusion success:

• Build: Develop critical infrastructure, materials testing and fusion-relevant facilities.
• Innovate: Apply AI, advanced modeling and new confinement approaches to close key scientific gaps.
• Grow: Expand regional fusion hubs, strengthen public-private partnerships and train a specialized workforce.

In November 2025, the DOE released its new organizational structure, which includes a standalone Office of Fusion Energy, reporting to the Under Secretary for Science. Together, these announcements reflect a growing sense of urgency amongst both Congress and the Trump Administration to deliver fusion power to the grid within the next decade and secure enduring U.S. leadership in this emerging industry.

The U.S. is Moving Fast…

Today, companies are already proving that commercialization is no longer speculative. Among the many industry accomplishments, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is building its SPARC (by 2027) and ARC (by the early 2030s) power plants using advanced superconducting magnets. Helion Energy raised $425 million in 2025 and, in partnership with Microsoft, is constructing a commercial fusion plant in Washington state, which aims to enter operation by 2028. In February, Type One Energy signed a cooperative agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to initiate fusion deployment. Serious investors and tech companies are placing very real bets on this technology.

Recent Notable Investments into the Fusion Sector

Source: Fusion Industry Association, “The global fusion industry in 2025“

…But China is Catching Up

China invested $1.5 billion in fusion last year, nearly double U.S. funding of $800 million. Additionally, state-owned enterprises have been investing heavily in fusion supply chains to ensure a swift path to commercialization. As part of this initiative, in July 2025, China established a new state-owned fusion company known as the China Fusion Energy Co. (CFEC) to accelerate commercialization. Since its genesis, CFEC has registered $2.1 billion in raised capital. This new company is just one example of China’s commercialization efforts to complement its scientific advances at its two main fusion enterprises, the Institute of Plasma Physics and the Hefei Institute of Physical Science. In contrast, despite private industry momentum, the U.S. fusion industry currently lacks the supply chains and infrastructure required to sustain a full commercial buildout. 

America’s Moment to Lead

Energy drives all human prosperity, which is why the Trump Administration has made American energy dominance a core policy priority. America now faces an opportunity to commercialize an entirely new source of energy. This moment is a rare opportunity for America to dominate an entirely new energy technology, building energy security and supporting reindustrialization. The private sector is ready, but it cannot outcompete state-backed corporations alone. The Trump Administration laid out a roadmap for U.S. leadership in fusion; now it’s time to capitalize and win.

 

America’s permitting system is not just slow and costly; it is a threat to our economic and energy security. Long delays, unpredictable reviews and escalating costs create investment uncertainty and lost opportunities. Projects across sectors take an average of four to five years to move through the permitting system, and delays cost $100-140 billion a year in the form of jobs, revenue and capital returns. We cannot meet rising energy demand and compete globally with a system that stands in the way of progress. 

If the U.S. is to lead in the AI-driven future, catalyze American manufacturing and keep energy costs low, we need to build more of everything and strengthen the energy system to deliver affordable, reliable and secure power.

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

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The 119th Congress has an opportunity to deliver bipartisan permitting reform that will let America build. Here are four solutions:

1. Modernize NEPA

Building in America should always require careful consideration of a project’s impacts on the environment. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed into law in 1970 to ensure this is done and needs to be updated to meet today’s energy realities. NEPA is a procedural statute to inform decision-making, not dictate outcomes. The May 2025 Seven County Supreme Court case reaffirmed this and importantly clarified both the scope and limits of agency discretion in the NEPA process. In the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, Congress made a down payment to refocus NEPA reviews. It is time to build on those bipartisan NEPA reforms. 

Modernizing NEPA should:

• Streamline the review process without weakening environmental standards.
• Clarify the scope of reviews to focus on significant impacts.
• Eliminate duplicative analyses across agencies.

2. Address NEPA Litigation

NEPA litigation rarely changes outcomes, but it does often delay or kill projects. A July 2025 Breakthrough Institute study found federal agencies win 74% of NEPA cases. By repeatedly filing lawsuits, project opponents aim to delay the process until developers run out of funding and abandon their projects. This chills investor confidence and can be a hurdle to building new energy assets like geothermal, hydropower, transmission lines and critical mineral enterprises. These lawsuits also drain federal agency resources, as agencies try to preempt lawsuits by making their documentation “litigation proof.” To increase predictability and halt harmful delay tactics, we need to reform NEPA judicial review and litigation practices. 

Reforming NEPA judicial review and litigation practices will:

• Limit legal challenges to clear and material violations of environmental or natural resources laws.
• Shorten the statute of limitations for NEPA lawsuits from six years to a more reasonable period.
• Establish strict tests and firm timelines for courts to resolve NEPA-related disputes.
• Require litigants to have participated in the public comment process before filing suit.

In addition to addressing NEPA, Congress could further improve the permitting process by updating environmental regulations, like the Clean Water Act, and expanding categorical exclusions where appropriate. 

3. Increase Transparency

A modern permitting system should have public, real-time data on the status of environmental reviews and permits to increase certainty and transparency for all stakeholders. Today, missing, fragmented and outdated data makes navigating the permitting process harder for developers, agencies and the public. By increasing transparency, all stakeholders have better visibility into the process and drive efficiency.

Increasing transparency includes:

• Requiring federal agencies to use digital tools for the process. 
• Developing standardized data for all federal permits.
• Creating a centralized portal that serves as a one-stop-shop for information on reviews and authorizations.
• Leveraging innovative technologies to allow for more automation and interoperability.

4. Fix the Grid

Fixing permitting alone is not enough. We must let American energy move. With demand for power increasing, we need to strengthen our grid and do it fast. To fix the grid, America should:

• Leverage Innovation: Deploy new technologies, including advanced conductors, dynamic line ratings, topology optimization and advanced power flow controllers, to get the most out of the existing grid. Support technology derisking with strategic incentives and shared information resources.
• Speed Up Interconnection: Optimize the use of existing interconnection capacity; leverage cost-effective upgrades; and modernize interconnection queues.
• Build More Transmission: Every energy source relies on transmission. Streamline the federal permitting processes, reduce litigation risks, make it easier for States to collaborate on transmission development, modernize federal authority to provide backstop siting authority, provide optional pathways for federal siting and establish interregional planning requirements.

There are bills in Congress that capture many of the ideas described above and that can help us meet the challenges we face. These bills include:

• The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development or SPEED Act (H.R. 4776), championed by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) addresses the scope of NEPA and litigation risk. 
• The ePERMIT Act (H.R. 4503), introduced by Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Scott Peters (D-CA), establishes a framework for federal agencies to implement a digital permitting system, leverage technology and launch a centralized online portal.
• The Guaranteeing Reliability through the Interconnection of Dispatchable Power Act or GRID Power Act (H.R. 1047), introduced by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), requires FERC to authorize transmission providers to prioritize dispatchable power projects in the interconnection queue that can address grid reliability. H.R.1047 passed the House in September 2025 on a bipartisan basis. The Senate version of the bill is S. 465, which was introduced by Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Todd Young (R-IN).
• The Streamlining Powerlines Essential to Electric Demand and Reliability Act of 2025 or SPEED and Reliability Act (H.R. 5600), championed by Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Scott Peters (D-CA), addresses the backstop siting of transmission lines in the national interest and create certainty for cost-allocation.

It’s time to let America build and let American energy move. With bipartisan reforms, Congress can design a permitting system that meets the scale of the challenge, and advances U.S. leadership in energy, manufacturing and innovation.

 

When the first Trump Administration negotiated the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2018, it rebuilt the foundation of North American competitiveness. The USMCA created a market-driven framework that protects American workers, strengthens U.S. industries and gives our country a competitive edge over non-market economies such as China.

The USMCA is successful because it establishes regulatory transparency, the alignment of cross-border standards and the alleviation of trade barriers. This framework fostered a stable environment critical for cross-border investment, innovation and the development of American energy infrastructure. By locking in fair and predictable rules, the USMCA is designed to support America’s competitive strength, ensuring long-term energy and industrial leadership. 

Five years later, that framework continues to deliver measurable results for America’s economy, including the energy sector, which remains one of the most strategic sectors for long-term prosperity and security. In 2024 alone, U.S. energy trade with Canada and Mexico totaled nearly $208 billion, fueling millions of jobs and ensuring a stable source of reliable, affordable energy across the continent.

As Washington prepares for the USMCA’s first joint review, policymakers have an opportunity to preserve what works, build on its strengths and resist efforts to inject uncertainty into the most successful trade agreement in modern history.

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North America’s Energy Defense Line

Energy security is central to America’s competitive advantage. The USMCA secured that advantage by creating a stable and predictable environment for cross-border investment and innovation.

Consider nuclear energy. While the USMCA does not include a dedicated chapter on nuclear energy, the U.S. nuclear sector benefits directly from the core principles of reducing trade barriers, improving regulatory transparency and aligning cross-border standards. These features create the foundation for advanced, high-value energy projects that sustain and expand high-paying American jobs in engineering, construction and manufacturing. A leading example is the partnership between GE Vernova Hitachi and Ontario Power Generation to build North America’s first grid-scale small modular reactor, the BWRX-300. American expertise and industry participation are central to the effort. The Tennessee Valley Authority and Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT are key contributors, with BWXT manufacturing the reactor vessel in the U.S.

Uranium mined in Canada is enriched and fabricated into fuel at U.S. facilities, supporting skilled labor and advanced manufacturing across the American supply chain. The same applies to critical minerals, which are essential to America’s energy and manufacturing strength. Canada and the U.S. are each other’s largest trading partners and have a reliable critical minerals supply chain that supports U.S. industry and jobs. By deepening cooperation through trade and investment, the U.S. can secure access to the materials that power advanced technologies, reduce exposure to geopolitical risks and strengthen domestic processing and manufacturing capacity.

The USMCA also provides a stable foundation for cross-border energy infrastructure, from oil and gas pipelines to electric transmission lines. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. crude oil imports originate from Canada and Mexico, ensuring steady feedstock for U.S. refineries that support higher-value American products, such as gasoline and diesel, for domestic use and export. This energy relationship contributes to over $688 billion in annual economic activity and supports nearly three million jobs across the U.S. Predictable cross-border trade and permitting frameworks are critical to maintaining this advantage.

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Keeping North America Competitive in a Changing World

The USMCA’s architects understood that modern competition depends on clear standards, strong investment rules and the regulatory predictability that allows American innovators to lead. Several core principles in key chapters should be reaffirmed and, in some cases, expanded, such as:

• Regulatory transparency and predictability outlined by Chapters 11 and 28 help cut red tape and reduce non-tariff barriers. Greater alignment in the energy and manufacturing sectors would further boost U.S. competitiveness.
  
• Support for cross-border services trade in Chapter 15 underpins U.S. strengths in engineering, design and construction. By providing a predictable framework for cross-border services trade, this framework sustains high-value American jobs and contributes to a $38.5 billion services trade surplus with Canada and Mexico in 2024.

• The North American Competitiveness Committee, established by Chapter 26, aims to address shared economic challenges. Strengthening its focus on measurable and actionable outcomes for supply chain resilience, energy security and innovation would help North America respond effectively to state-directed competitors like China.

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Maintain American Leadership

The upcoming review is an opportunity to fine-tune a proven model. Several bipartisan ideas now circulating in Congress could strengthen the USMCA’s focus on energy and security, including the following.

• The Restoring American Mineral Security Act (S.2839) would create a critical minerals alliance among trusted partners, aligning with the USMCA’s goals of supply chain coordination and trade facilitation. Harmonizing tariffs on China and deepening cooperation with Canada and Mexico by incorporating elements of this bill in USMCA could strengthen U.S. industrial leadership.
  
• The Protecting the USMCA from Harmful Chinese Investment Act (S.2861) would align foreign investment screening with Canada and Mexico, following the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) model. This could help protect North American industries and energy infrastructure from Chinese influence while strengthening the USMCA’s goals of coordinated risk management and economic security.
  
• The Promoting Cross-Border Infrastructure Act (H.R. 3062) would streamline permitting for pipelines and transmission projects, reducing delays and improving regulatory certainty to strengthen North American energy security. An updated USMCA could include similar commitments from all three countries to timely, reciprocal development of cross-border energy infrastructure and reduced regulatory barriers.

The USMCA has proven that pro-growth trade and strong national security go hand in hand. By locking in fair, predictable rules with America’s regional neighbors, the U.S. has strengthened its energy and industrial leadership, supporting millions of high-quality jobs. As the joint review approaches, we encourage policymakers to remember what makes the USMCA work: it favors markets over mandates, innovation over regulation and America’s closest partners over China. ClearPath’s views are detailed further in our public comments for the U.S. Trade Representative’s USMCA review. Preserving and enhancing the USMCA will uphold American energy and manufacturing leadership, reminding the world that when North America is united, the U.S. wins.