Kirsty Gogan and Industry Leaders Discuss the Future of Small & Advanced Reactors

Nuclear Supply Chain Summit 2025

London, UK

October 21, 2025

Kirsty Gogan, Managing Partner at LucidCatalyst and Founding Director and Co-CEO of Terra Praxis, spoke at the Nuclear Supply Chain Summit 2025 about the transformative potential of small and advanced modular reactors. Her insights underscore the urgent need for industry-wide collaboration and innovation to unlock the trillion-dollar market opportunity in nuclear energy.

During the Nuclear Supply Chain Summit 2025, held by the NucCol in London, Kirsty Gogan moderated the panel "Small & Advanced Modular Reactors," chaired by Tom Greatrex, CEO of the Nuclear Industry Association. She was joined on the panel by key industry leaders: Rory O'Neill from Westinghouse Electric Company, Leon Flexman from X-energy, Harry Keeling of Rolls-Royce SMR, and André Steenhuis from Allseas Engineering.

In her remarks, Kirsty highlighted the critical opportunity we face: nearly 700 GW of accessible industrial market demand by 2050, representing hundreds of billions in investment, with major players already making commitments to nuclear-powered solutions. She emphasized that traditional delivery methods are insufficient to meet industry needs, and that the future lies in shift toward manufacturing-based delivery and mass production—transformations already demonstrated by aerospace and automotive industries.

Kirsty's insights underscored the importance of transforming supply chains to support this evolution: from standardizing components at scale, adopting automated manufacturing processes, to coordinating across six critical drivers—delivery innovation, regulatory evolution, economic viability, site availability, capital access, and developer ecosystem. Time is of the essence; the next five years are pivotal for proving that these new delivery models can meet industrial procurement requirements.

Her call to action was clear: think programmatically, prepare for manufacturing, collaborate across ecosystems, and demonstrate excellence now. The success of this transformation will shape the future of nuclear energy and open up a trillion-dollar market opportunity.

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Kirsty Gogan's full remarks from the Nuclear Supply Chain Summit 2025:

"Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak at this critical gathering of nuclear supply chain leaders.

We're at an inflection point. The nuclear industry stands on the threshold of extraordinary growth—not the incremental kind we've hoped for in the past, but transformational expansion that could reshape global energy markets. But whether we seize this moment or watch it slip away depends entirely on decisions being made right now about how we build nuclear projects."

The Market Reality

"Let me start with the opportunity. Our analysis for Urenco identifies nearly 700 GW of accessible industrial market demand by 2050—that's approximately 2,300 reactors serving critical sectors like data centers, chemicals, sustainable aviation fuels, and coal repowering. This represents between half a trillion and 1.5 trillion dollars in investment opportunity.

And this isn't wishful thinking. Major industrial energy users are already making commitments: Microsoft partnering with Constellation to restart Three Mile Island, Google working with Kairos Power for deployment by 2030, Dow Chemical planning SMRs at their Texas facility. These companies need hundreds of gigawatts of clean, reliable baseload power, and they're concluding that nuclear may be the only technology that can actually deliver it."

The Uncomfortable Truth

"Under current delivery approaches, we'll capture almost none of this market."

Why Current Approaches Won't Scale

"Today's nuclear industry is on track to deploy less than 10 GW globally by 2050—less than 2% of the accessible market opportunity. Why? Because industrial customers don't buy nuclear projects the way we've traditionally delivered them.

Industrial procurement requires three things we currently cannot provide:

- Fixed-price contracts with minimal exposure to cost overruns

- Predictable schedules that fit within capital planning cycles

- Proven operational performance with established track records

Traditional construction-based delivery—even with the best project management—fundamentally cannot meet these requirements. When every project is a bespoke engineering exercise, when schedules stretch across decades, and when final costs remain uncertain until completion, industrial customers simply cannot justify the investment."

The Programmatic Pathway

"This is where programmatic delivery becomes essential—and where the companies represented on this panel are leading the way.

Programmatic delivery—through sustained government support, standardized design certification, and improved project management—can achieve what current approaches cannot. Our analysis shows this can expand deployment to 120 GW by 2050, a 16-fold increase from today's trajectory.

More importantly, programmatic approaches can achieve the cost and schedule predictability that industrial customers demand. By standardizing designs, establishing proven supply chains, and building multiple units in series, we can reduce costs from over $100/MWh to the $90-125/MWh range while dramatically improving schedule certainty."

We Must Think Beyond Programmatic

"Yet, I want to challenge us to think even bigger because programmatic delivery, while essential, still leaves 80% of the market opportunity on the table.

The real transformation happens when we shift from construction-based to manufacturing-based delivery. This isn't theoretical—Korean shipyards already demonstrate the capacity to build 10-20 nuclear-capable vessels annually. The automotive industry produces 90 million engines each year, equivalent to 5.5 terawatts of generation capacity.

Shipyard production could expand our market access to 347 GW by 2050, achieving costs of $60-90/MWh. Full mass manufacturing—applying design-for-manufacturing principles similar to what transformed aerospace and automotive industries—could reach 700 GW at $40-70/MWh, making nuclear competitive with natural gas even without policy support."

What This Means for Supply Chains

"This transformation has profound implications for everyone in this room.

The supply chain required for programmatic delivery looks very different from today’s nuclear supply chain—but it’s still recognizable. You're building multiple units in series rather than one-offs, you're standardizing components and processes, and you're developing specialized skills and infrastructure.

But the supply chain for manufacturing-based delivery looks fundamentally different. It looks like aerospace supply chains. It looks like automotive supply chains. It requires:

- Standardized components produced at industrial scale

- Automated manufacturing processes with rigorous quality control

- Global supply chains optimized for volume production

- Competitive ecosystems where multiple qualified suppliers drive innovation

- Digital tools that enable rapid configuration and deployment"

The Six Critical Drivers

"Achieving this transformation requires coordinated progress across six interconnected drivers:

- Delivery Innovation — Moving from on-site construction to factory manufacturing

- Regulatory Evolution — Shifting from site-by-site licensing to product-based certification

- Economic Viability — Policy frameworks that appropriately value reliability, security, and zero emissions

- Site Availability — Hundreds of pre-qualified sites rather than a handful requiring site-specific approval

- Capital Access — Mainstream financing for manufacturing-scale investment

- Developer Ecosystem — A mature, competitive supplier base with proven track records

Progress in any single area cannot unlock large-scale deployment. A supply chain optimized for manufacturing cannot function without product-based licensing. Regulatory efficiency means nothing without manufacturing capability. These drivers must advance together, in coordination."

The 2025–2030 Window

"Which brings me to urgency. The next five years are critical. The demonstrator projects being deployed now—by Westinghouse, Rolls-Royce, X-Energy, and others—must prove that new delivery models can meet industrial requirements. These projects aren't just about demonstrating reactor technology; they’re about proving that nuclear can deliver on the procurement requirements industrial customers demand.

If we succeed, we unlock a trillion-dollar market and establish nuclear as the backbone of industrial decarbonization. If we fail—if costs overrun, schedules slip, or we cannot demonstrate predictable delivery—that market opportunity will default to alternative technologies that may not be able to deliver the same reliability and zero-emissions performance but can meet procurement requirements."

Call to Action

"So, what do we need from you—from the supply chain community gathered here today?

First, think programmatically. Even if you're supplying components for single projects today, design your processes and capabilities for series production. Build the infrastructure, develop the skills, and establish the partnerships that enable repeatable, predictable delivery.

Second, prepare for manufacturing. The companies that will dominate the future nuclear supply chain are those positioning themselves now for factory production. What would your component look like designed for automated manufacturing? How would your quality processes change in a factory environment? What standardization would unlock volume production?

Third, collaborate across the ecosystem. The transformation we need cannot happen through vertical integration alone. We need open, competitive supply chains where standardized interfaces enable multiple qualified suppliers—driving both innovation and cost reduction.

Finally, demonstrate excellence now. The projects being delivered in the next five years will determine whether the nuclear industry can access this enormous market opportunity. Every component delivered on time and on budget, every quality milestone achieved, every innovation that improves predictability—these build the track record that unlocks the next wave of investment."

Conclusion

"We stand at a rare moment where market demand, policy support, and technological capability are aligning to enable nuclear's largest expansion in history. But this opportunity won't wait. Industrial customers are making energy decisions now. Supply chains are being established now. The manufacturing capabilities that will dominate this market are being built now.

The question isn't whether nuclear can technically serve this market—we know it can. The question is whether we can transform how we deliver nuclear projects to meet the requirements of industrial customers who represent a trillion-dollar opportunity.

I believe we can. The companies on this panel are proving we can. And the supply chain community in this room will determine whether we do.

Thank you."

Kirsty Gogan

Managing Partner, LucidCatalyst