Moonshot energy technologies, such as nuclear fusion, advanced geothermal, and thorium-based fission, promise transformative power sources at costs as low as $25 per megawatt-hour, compared to today’s average of $100. However, achieving this requires more than simply funding ambitious projects. It requires a stable energy base and surplus capacity to support high-risk, high-reward ventures.

For investors, understanding the road to these innovations is just as important as understanding the technologies themselves. Without a strong energy foundation, moonshot investments risk becoming more of a societal burden than a strategic opportunity. Stability creates conditions for bold innovation.

Building that foundation depends on four key pillars:

  1. Firm Baseload Power: Reliable, 24/7 power is critical for industries such as AI and data centers. While solar and wind energy are valuable, they cannot sustain heavy industrial growth on their own. Expanding baseload capacity with natural gas and nuclear energy is essential to meeting these demands.
  2. Redesign Energy Markets: Current market structures favor low costs over reliability, risking grid stability. A shift is needed to properly value dependable power, ensuring the grid can handle rising energy demands.
  3. Secure Supply Chains: Energy security starts with strong supply lines, particularly in the nuclear sector. Weak links pose a threat to both economic and national security.
  4. Supportive Finance Architecture: Long-term energy projects require stable financial frameworks. Government-backed policies, such as market floors, can reduce risk and attract private capital to flow into these critical areas.

The U.S. is uniquely positioned to lead this energy transformation. Abundant natural gas reserves offer a reliable bridge fuel, while nuclear, operating at over 90% capacity, provides long-term, carbon-free power. Battery storage in conjunction with renewable power, to reshape peak demand curves can work in conjunction with firm baseload.  Together, these resources may drive a new era of energy leadership.

Compared to Europe’s ideological  effort to build its system on intermittent renewables and China’s inefficiencies in its state-controlled system, America’s resource base and market-driven economy could give it a strategic edge. A resilient North American energy bloc could defend global leadership.

As reshoring and AI accelerate energy demand, opportunities for investment are vast. By focusing on foundational investments in baseload power, supply chain security, and market reliability, investors can prepare to capitalize on this seismic shift.

For more information on related investment opportunities and insights, please listen to our podcast, Monthly Macro: Pain at the Plug, featuring William Blair Macro Analyst Richard de Chazal and William Blair Equity Research Group Head of Energy and Power Technologies, Jed Dorsheimer.