Arrangement reunites naval reactor technology with the fabricator that built America’s first and last nuclear power reactors.
DALLAS, TX, UNITED STATES, February 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Arrangement Reunites Naval Reactor Technology with the Fabricator that Built America’s Last Nuclear Power Reactors
Companies to Pursue DOE Paducah RFO Together
HGP Intelligent Energy (“HGP”) and The Shaw Group (“Shaw”) today announced a strategic supply arrangement to pursue the deployment of nuclear reactors at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Paducah, Kentucky facility. If awarded, the project would represent an early step toward rebuilding America’s nuclear fabrication industrial base since the completion of the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.
Under the arrangement, Shaw has agreed to use its best efforts to support HGP’s CoreHeld Project in winning the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s Request for Offer (RFO) for energy generation projects at the Paducah site. The RFO, issued November 4, 2025, seeks proposals from companies to build and power AI data centers on DOE land, with submissions due January 30, 2026.
The arrangement brings together HGP’s CoreHeld Project—an innovative approach to repurposing proven naval nuclear technology for civilian power generation—with Shaw’s world-class fabrication capabilities and deep nuclear heritage. Shaw’s Lake Charles, Louisiana facility was the birthplace of the modules that powered Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the first new nuclear reactors built in the United States in over three decades.
Key Terms of the Memorandum of Understanding
The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding executed today establishes a framework for the parties to collaborate on HGP’s CoreHeld Project. Key provisions include:
Preferred Supplier Status: Shaw will serve as HGP’s preferred supplier for Engineering, Procurement, and Fabrication (EPF) services for the CoreHeld Project at Paducah, subject to mutually agreeable commercial terms to be negotiated in definitive agreements.
Best Efforts Cooperation: Each party agrees to use its best efforts to support the success of HGP’s response to the DOE Paducah RFO, including joint proposal development, technical coordination, and fabrication planning.
Scope of Services: Shaw’s potential scope includes balance-of-plant module fabrication, piping systems, structural components, pressure vessels, and related nuclear-grade equipment at Shaw’s Lake Charles facility.
Exclusivity: During the term of the MOU, Shaw agrees not to provide EPF services to competing naval reactor civilian deployment projects at the Paducah site.
Confidentiality: The parties have entered into mutual confidentiality obligations to protect proprietary and commercially sensitive information exchanged in connection with the arrangement.
Non-Binding Nature: The MOU reflects the parties’ mutual intent and is not intended to create binding legal obligations, except with respect to confidentiality, exclusivity, and certain other customary provisions. Definitive agreements will be negotiated upon successful award of the DOE RFO.
Term: The MOU has an initial term of twelve (12) months, subject to extension by mutual written agreement of the parties.
A Legacy Dating to America’s Nuclear Dawn
The strategic supply arrangement draws on nuclear expertise spanning seven decades. A former division of Shaw, Stone & Webster, engineered Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania—the world’s first full-scale commercial nuclear power plant, which achieved criticality in 1957 and demonstrated that nuclear fission could safely and reliably generate electricity for the American grid.
Stone & Webster went on to serve as original engineer and constructor for 17 U.S. nuclear power plants and developed the first Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved Nuclear Quality Assurance Program. Shaw acquired Stone & Webster in 2000, inheriting this institutional knowledge and applying it to the next generation of nuclear construction.
In 2008, Shaw partnered with Westinghouse to build a $100 million nuclear module fabrication facility at Lake Charles—the first of its kind in America. That facility produced 1,485 major modules for Vogtle Units 3 and 4, including structural components weighing over 1,000 tons that were assembled in Louisiana before being transported by rail and barge to Georgia.
“Shaw’s nuclear pedigree is unmatched in America,” said Gregory A. Forero, CEO of HGP Intelligent Energy. “From Shippingport to Vogtle, this company has been at the center of every major chapter in American nuclear history. Now we’re writing the next chapter together—deploying naval reactor technology that has safely powered the U.S. fleet for decades to meet America’s surging energy demands. Having Shaw’s commitment to support our Paducah RFO proposal demonstrates the strength of this arrangement.”
Naval Nuclear: The Gold Standard
HGP’s CoreHeld Project proposes to leverage the most successful nuclear program in history. Since USS Nautilus became the world’s first nuclear-powered vessel in 1954, the U.S. Navy has safely operated nuclear reactors for more than 7,500 reactor-years without a single reactor accident. Naval reactors have accumulated operating experience among the most extensive globally.
The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, established under Admiral Hyman Rickover, created a safety culture and engineering discipline that became the model for commercial nuclear power globally. CoreHeld would bring this proven technology and operational excellence to civilian power generation, deployed on secure DOE lands with the same rigorous standards that have protected American sailors for seven decades.
“The Naval Reactors program represents the highest standard of nuclear safety and reliability ever achieved,” said Mike Childress, Vice Chairman of The Shaw Group. “Working with HGP to support civilian deployment of this technology is exactly the kind of mission that Shaw was built for. Our Lake Charles team fabricated the modules for America’s newest nuclear plants—now we’re committed to supporting HGP’s proposal at Paducah and the next wave of American nuclear.”
Paducah: Where America’s Nuclear Future Begins
The DOE’s Paducah site in western Kentucky is experiencing a nuclear renaissance. The former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant—which enriched uranium for both defense and civilian purposes from 1952 to 2013—is now attracting billions in new investment and has been designated by DOE as one of four federal sites for AI data center and energy infrastructure development.
On November 4, 2025, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management issued a Request for Offer seeking proposals from companies to build and power AI data centers at Paducah. The RFO is aligned with the Trump Administration’s executive orders on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Unleashing American Energy, and Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure. As DOE Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh stated, “Paducah has the resources and vision to support the next generation of AI infrastructure, creating new opportunities for prosperity while advancing national security for future generations.”
General Matter recently secured a $900 million DOE contract to build a HALEU uranium enrichment facility on the site. If selected, CoreHeld reactors at Paducah would provide carbon-free baseload power to support these emerging industrial uses, including AI data centers requiring reliable, 24/7 electricity, and could create up to approximately 2,000 permanent operations jobs in a region with deep nuclear expertise. HGP has engaged with Kentucky’s Congressional delegation and state leadership regarding the project.
A New Model for Nuclear Deployment
Shaw’s EPF model, subject to negotiation of definitive agreements, represents a streamlined approach that leverages Shaw’s fabrication excellence while avoiding the fixed-price construction risks that plagued earlier nuclear projects. Shaw’ has over 400 acres of fabrication facilities with more than 10 acres of covered fabrication space, direct barge access to the Gulf of Mexico, and monthly capacity exceeding 10,500 pipe spools.
The arrangement aligns with Secretary of the Navy John Phelan’s recent call for 250,000 new skilled workers in America’s maritime industrial base and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “Arsenal of Freedom” framework emphasizing accelerated production timelines.
Alignment with Trump Administration Energy Dominance Agenda
The HGP-Shaw strategic supply arrangement directly advances the Trump Administration’s energy dominance agenda and supports multiple executive orders signed by President Trump.
As President Trump stated in launching the Genesis Mission: “In this pivotal moment, the challenges we face require a historic national effort, comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project that was instrumental to our victory in World War II.” The CoreHeld Project is designed to answer this call by deploying proven naval reactor technology to power America’s AI infrastructure.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has emphasized: “Throughout history, from the Manhattan Project to the Apollo mission, our nation’s brightest minds and industries have answered the call when their nation needed them. Today, the United States is calling on them once again. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Genesis Mission will unleash the full power of our National Laboratories, supercomputers, and data resources to ensure that America is the global leader in artificial intelligence and to usher in a new golden era of American discovery.”
The arrangement supports the Administration’s nuclear energy priorities as outlined in the May 2025 executive orders to quadruple U.S. nuclear generating capacity by 2050, including executive orders on Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base (directing DOE to facilitate construction start on ten new large reactors by 2030) and Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security (coordinating with the Department of Defense to assess repurposing closed nuclear facilities).
HGP submitted an application to DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing on December 1, 2025 under the Genesis Mission framework, and provided written testimony to the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s January 7, 2026 hearing on “American Energy Dominance: Dawn of the New Nuclear Era.”
About HGP Intelligent Energy
HGP Intelligent Energy is a nuclear energy company developing the CoreHeld Project to deploy naval-specification nuclear reactors for civilian power generation at DOE sites. Founded by Gregory A. Forero, a veteran of energy trading and power portfolio management with experience at TXU Energy, Constellation Energy, and UBS, HGP has submitted applications to DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing and provided testimony to the House Energy & Commerce Committee on nuclear deployment pathways.
About The Shaw Group
The Shaw Group is an industry leader in pipe fabrication, module fabrication, and Engineering, Procurement, and Fabrication (EPF) services. With 1.6 million square feet of fabrication capacity across facilities in North America and the Middle East, Shaw serves clients in the energy, chemicals, power generation, pharmaceuticals, technology, and infrastructure sectors. Shaw’s nuclear heritage traces through Stone & Webster to Shippingport—America’s first commercial nuclear power plant—and includes fabrication of all major modules for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and employs approximately 2,200 people. For more information, visit www.TheShawGrp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding HGP Intelligent Energy, The Shaw Group, and the CoreHeld Project. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including regulatory approvals, financing, technical feasibility, DOE RFO award decisions, negotiation of definitive agreements, and market conditions. The MOU is non-binding except as to certain customary provisions. Nothing in this announcement implies endorsement, preference, or selection by the U.S. Department of Energy. Neither party undertakes any obligation to update these statements.
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Gregory A. Forero
HGP Intelligent Energy LLC
gf@hgpenergy.com
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