Policy & Climate
For nuclear energy to play a critical role in a clean energy future, exploring complex sociotechnical problems with non-engineering tools is crucial.
Our Policy and Climate research bridges the gap between cutting-edge nuclear engineering solutions and the global challenges of climate change. We believe that innovative nuclear technologies are pivotal in achieving a sustainable energy future, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and fostering global energy security.
Our team focuses on the interplay of technology, policy, and environmental impact. By engaging in comprehensive research and analysis, we provide actionable insights into how nuclear energy can be effectively integrated into climate strategies. From exploring advancements in reactor technologies to assessing nuclear’s role in achieving net-zero goals, our work is at the forefront of driving informed decision-making at local, national, and international levels.
The Fastest Path to Zero Initiative at the University of Michigan was launched in 2019 to support the University’s leadership in research and policy development surrounding clean energy.
The Fastest Path team is dedicated to driving the rapid deployment of carbon-free energy solutions to combat climate change. Our mission is to empower communities and policymakers with tools, knowledge, and resources needed to achieve fair and sustainable energy transformations. From nuclear energy to other zero-carbon alternatives, we focus on practical, scalable solutions that address the varied needs of today’s energy landscape.
Our work spans deep technical research to hands-on collaboration with communities, ensuring all stakeholders—including policymakers, energy developers, and local leaders—are equipped to lead in the transition to a clean energy future. We recognize that reaching zero carbon emissions is not just a technological challenge but also a societal one, and we prioritize advancing practical and sustainable solutions in every project we undertake.
By working with communities, governments, industry, and academia, we are speeding the transition to a cleaner, safer energy future for everyone.
NEWS
Select Projects
MI Hydrogen
Co-directors: Todd Allen and Greg Keoleian
MI Hydrogen, a joint venture by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the College of Engineering and the School for Environment and Sustainability, will foster collaboration among U-M researchers, community groups, and government and industry partners to address knowledge gaps and develop strategies to help society transition toward an energy future that is affordable, clean and secure. More info.
Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2)
U-M Lead: Todd Allen
MachH2 is an alliance committed to growing the Midwest regional hydrogen value chain to deliver a positive climate and community impact. More info.
Community Siting Tools
Lead: Gabrielle Hoelzle
We are creating technology-neutral tools to aid community-centered decision-making. To get to zero, different places will adopt different technology mixes based on their specific social, political, and economic needs. We want to make that process easier and more transparent so that more communities can successfully reach their climate goals as quickly as possible. Learn more.
- PEANuT (Perspectives on the Export of Advanced Nuclear Technology) is a global data exploration tool for assessing a country’s overall suitability and readiness to host U.S. advanced nuclear technologies.
- STAND (Siting Tool for Advanced Nuclear Development) helps advanced nuclear companies identify and examine potentially feasible sites where advanced nuclear facilities might be welcomed by host communities.
- ANSL (Advanced Nuclear Site Locator) is a siting tool to be used in the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. It incorporates social, political, and economic data to connect advanced nuclear companies with communities looking to mitigate climate change by adopting zero-carbon energy systems. Developed in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory through a grant from ARPA-E MEITNER Resource Team.
- PLANET (Public and Local Attitudes about Nuclear Energy Technology) is a tool that uses local estimates of community attitudes about nuclear technologies and facility siting. It aims to bring public views to the center of decision-making about how and where to site nuclear plants. Developed in collaboration with the National Institute for Risk & Resilience at the University of Oklahoma.
Engaging New Mexican communities in developing a fair and just approach to siting advanced reactor facilities
Lead: Aditi Verma
This DOE NEUP Research and Development Project will engage New Mexican communities to develop a fair approach for advanced reactor siting. The findings of this project will shed light on how technology developers and the DOE can explore and potentially site advanced reactors – especially at coal plant sites — with the informed consent and engagement of host communities, regions, and states. In addition to community engagement, the research team will develop a nuclear sentiment analysis (NSA) tool that uses open-source data to generate information on sentiment toward the clean energy transition and nuclear energy across the state. Learn more.
Demonstration Reactor Siting Study and Decision Tool
Lead: Gabrielle Hoelzle
The NRIC-sponsored Demonstration Reactor Siting and Capabilities Study is a two-phase joint effort including DOE, DoD, industry, national laboratory, and academic partners to examine demonstration-siting alternatives. The decision-analytic aspects of this effort have been led by Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with both Idaho and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and the Fastest Path to Zero initiative at the University of Michigan. The Fastest Path team is in the process of incorporating the Excel spreadsheet that ANL uses for its decision modeling into the Michigan ANSL tool in order to enhance the decision-making capabilities of the tool.
Deployment Pathways of Small Modular Reactors
Lead: Todd Allen
In October of 2020, we started a research paper called “Deployment Pathways of Small Modular Reactors in Electric Power and Industrial Markets to Achieve Cost Reductions and Widespread Use” in collaboration with Assistant Professor Michael Craig of the School of Environment and Sustainability.
Integrating socially led co-design into consent-based siting of interim storage facilities
Lead: Kuhika Gupta (University of Oklahoma)
Fastest Path Collaborators: Todd Allen, Aditi Verma, and Denia Djokić
This project explores a qualitatively different approach to engaging with potential host communities (PHCs) about siting interim storage facilities (ISFs). This new approach engages with PHCs to explore the implications of partnering on co-design of a prospective facility with project engineers. The process will be a collaborative engagement between community representatives and project engineers, with both groups learning from each other as they jointly pursue an effective ISF siting process. Learn more.
Engaging Wyoming Communities in an Environmental Justice Approach for Advanced Nuclear Energy Facility Siting
Lead: Rachael Budowle (University of Wyoming)
Fastest Path Collaborators: Denia Djokić, Aditi Verma
TerraPower’s and PacifiCorp’s plan to site a Natrium™ advanced nuclear reactor demonstration project at a retiring coal-fired plant in Wyoming presents a unique, timely, empirical context for applied community-based environmental justice research with communities, developers, and other elite stakeholders. The proposed ethnographic, collaborative, and legal analyses will inform an adaptable, justice-based, community-engaged process for emerging and advanced nuclear energy technology siting. Learn more.
Emerging Energy Markets Analysis Initiative
NERS Lead: Todd Allen
We support Idaho National Laboratory’s Emerging Energy Markets Analysis Initiative (EMA). The EMA team helps people make energy choices that are right for their time, place, and community. These choices are informed by a value map created using a multi-dimensional decision framework. Learn more.
GET INVOLVED
We believe that engaging in research as an undergraduate student is a very important part of the NERS experience, and many of our third- and fourth-year undergraduate students are actively involved and have co-authored papers in scientific journals.
