How a third-generation Texas oilman transformed an organic farming company into a leading advanced nuclear startup at a small Christian college | Fortune

Doug Robison, a third-generation Texas oilman, helped transform an organic farming company into Natura, a nuclear startup focused on advanced, molten-salt reactors. The change began nearly a decade ago when Robison, planning retirement and a sale, heard NEXT lab director Rusty Towell at Abilene Christian University discuss affordable power from next-generation nuclear technology. Robison later provided a $3.2 million research donation, which drew attention from then U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who sent a team to Abilene. In 2019, the Department of Energy offered support for fuel and salt if the project built a test reactor, and ACU agreed to host it while Robison said he would fund it. Natura plans to bring its first reactor, MSR-1, online in 2028 in Abilene; the NRC approved the construction permit in 2024. A 100-megawatt commercial reactor is planned for West Texas’ Permian Basin or near Texas A&M in Bryan by 2032. Natura joined the Trump administration’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program and later acquired Shepherd Power from NOV’s energy technology and manufacturing business.