MIT Grad Builds Nuclear Plants at Shipyards to Cut Costs

Building a nuclear power plant typically takes a decade, costs billions more than expected, and requires thousands of workers assembling parts in remote locations. Jake Jurewicz figured out a simpler way while studying nuclear engineering at MIT.

His company Blue Energy builds giant nuclear plant sections at existing shipyards, then floats them on barges to their final destination. Each prefabricated block weighs 1,500 tons and snaps together like massive Lego pieces, cutting construction time from many years to just one.

"The nuclear problem is a construction problem," says Jurewicz, who founded Blue Energy after earning two degrees from MIT. "We don't have enough nuclear power because we're really bad at building it."

The insight came from his master's thesis comparing nuclear construction to offshore oil and gas projects. Shipyards already employ thousands of skilled welders and have specialized equipment sitting ready. They build massive steel structures every single day in controlled environments where automation works well.

Blue Energy's breakthrough goes beyond just prefabricating parts. The company designed its early plants to run on natural gas first, then switch to nuclear reactors later. That means the plants start generating revenue within three years instead of waiting a decade for regulatory approvals and construction delays.

The approach impressed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission enough to grant approval. Blue Energy also secured a partnership with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy for its first project in Victoria, Texas.

The Ripple Effect

That 2.5 gigawatt Texas plant represents more than just one community's power supply. It's the first of only five new nuclear projects to reach the construction application stage in this generation.

If successful, the model could revive America's stalled nuclear industry. The last new U.S. reactor took 30 years to complete and came in seven years late. Meanwhile, demand for clean, reliable baseload power keeps growing.

Jurewicz believes his shipyard manufacturing approach can make nuclear deployment as straightforward as building wind, solar, or gas plants. The same supply chains that serve offshore oil and gas can pivot to nuclear without major retooling.

The Victoria plant aims to begin producing power in 2030, proving that nuclear doesn't have to mean endless delays and cost overruns. Sometimes the best innovation isn't inventing new technology but finding smarter ways to build what already works.