Energy Dominance: Can the US do it Alone?

Event: Nuclear Energy Dominance: Can the U.S. Do It Alone?

Date: March 26-27, 2026

Location: MIT Campus

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Thursday, March 26

INTRO: The Vision for a “Free-World Nuclear Team” to counter Russia’s and China’s current dominance of nuclear export markets (Prof. JACOPO BUONGIORNO, MIT)

HOST: Prof. JACOPO BUONGIORNO (MIT)

SESSION 1: The International Dimension and Alliances: Must-Haves and Nice-to-Haves (Dr. ANNE BROUGHEL, Johns Hopkins University and U.S. Association for Energy Economics)

1. U.S.-Canada (JACQUES BESNAINOU, Westinghouse)
2. U.S.-South Korea (FLORENCE LOWE-LEE, GABI)
3. U.S.-India (JASKIRAT GHOTRA, Larsen-Toubro)
4. U.S. Government perspective (JUSTIN FRIEDMAN, U.S. State Dept.)
5. Time to Resurrect the Idea of Shared Fuel Cycle Strategies/Facilities (enrichment, LEU reserves, HLW repositories) (RAULI PARTANEN, DeepGEO)

SESSION 2: Getting Things Going at Home (Prof. CURTIS SMITH, MIT)

1. Leveraging the USG Power of Procurement (DOD, TVA, NASA, etc.) (Dr. JOHN PARSONS, MIT)
2. Support by Individual States: TX, WY, TN (DANIELLE ZIGON, UT-Austin)
3. Financing: Where Will the Money Come From? (PAUL MURPHY)
4. Transforming the NRC into an Enabling Regulator (Hon. JEFFREY MERRIFIELD, Pillsbury Law)
5. A New Branding, Marketing and Media Approach for Nuclear (RANDY FREER and ROB FREDA, MIT)
   

DINNER SPEAKER: TBD

Friday, March 27 

SESSION 3: Choosing the Right Techs and Business Models to Realize Meaningful Deployment (Chair: KOROUSH SHIRVAN)

1. What Reactor Technologies are Credibly Ready to Deploy at Commercial Scale within the Next 5 Years? (Prof. KOROUSH SHIRVAN, MIT)
2. Status of the Nearest New Commercial Nuclear Reactor Project in North America: Darlington (OPG)
3. How to Rebuild the U.S. Supply Chain?  (AHMET TOKPINAR, Bechtel)
4. How Can ROK Support U.S. Deployment? (Hyundai)
5. Use Cases: Data Centers and Oil/Gas  (TBD)