The 2026 Fort Bend Infrastructure Conference, a collaborative event hosted by the Central Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Bend Regional Partnership, took place on September 18 at Safari Ranch Texas, 11627 FM 1464 in Richmond, drawing participants not only from Fort Bend County but from Katy and Waller County as well.

The keynote speaker – former oilman Doug Robison, who is the founder and executive chairman of Abilene-based Natura Resources -- spoke about the development of nuclear energy in Texas. His company is building a nuclear reactor in Abilene near Abilene Christian University, using salt as a coolant rather than water. The company produces high process heat plus electricity that can desalinate water and which can also harvest medical isotopes for cancer treatment as well.

Appointed by Governor Rick Perry as chair of the state’s Energy Supply Committee in the early 2000’s at a time when 70 percent of power generation came from coal, Robison first studied wind-generated power.

“Our finding was if, hypothetically, if you were to remove hydrocarbons from the grid, the only technology that could replace that form of power from a sustainability standpoint was nuclear,” Robison said. “I wasn’t liking nuclear…we were doing fracking in the Permian.”

Robison started up Natura Resources and deployed $30 million in funding into four universities: University of Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Abilene Christian University, which agreed to host the demonstration reactor. Texas Tech has since been added as a fifth university partner, Robison said.

In 2015 Robison started funding a research project at Abilene Christian University focusing on nuclear energy. Encouraged by Rick Perry – by then a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet – Robison applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency for permits and tackled other hurdles including construction of the reactor.

Natura opened the $25 million Science Engineering Research Center in Abilene in 2023. That same year, Texas passed the Texas Energy Fund, investing $5 billion to get more dispatchable power to the grid. “The need for more power, the exponential growth of the grid we saw coming before data centers and AI came onto the horizon.”

Then in 2024 Microsoft, Google and Nucor presented their needs for a hundred gigawatts of non-carbon power. A data center can only be without power for six minutes a year, Robison said. “The only thing that fits that definition is nuclear,” he said.

“We need more dispatchable power, more reliable power on the grid,” Robion said. “And we want to capture this industry from Texas from an economic development standpoint.” Abilene has become the

center of the world on a lot of these issues, he said. Tennessee is competing with Texas to lead the nuclear energy industry, Robison said.

Natura hopes to deploy its first commercial reactor by 2032, Robison said. The company is working on scalability, he said.

Gabriela von zur Muehlen of the Texas Association of Business, led a discussion on “Data Center Power: Myths, Facts, and the Fine Print,” along with panelists Jess Heck of the Data Center Coalition and Chris Tomlinson, columnist for the Houston Chronicle. Panelists called for state regulations to help govern data centers, noting that only local governments are currently able to govern noise, light pollution and other issues.

Two panels addressed water issues – one led by Jeff Haley of SI Environmental discussed opportunities and challenges for water infrastructure for a growing population and the second, moderated by Russ Poppe of the Fort Bend County Drainage District, looked at “Fort Bend Region’s One Water Strategy.” The One Water approach is an integrated, holistic water-management framework that treats all water—drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, groundwater, and surface water—as a single, valuable resource to be managed collaboratively and sustainably. It emphasizes breaking down traditional silos, coordinating across sectors, and ensuring equitable, resilient water systems. Obstacles to the approach include ownership of water rights, the panelists said, as well as strong leadership on the issue and development of incentives. Panelist Marcus Stuckett of the Harris County Flood Control District said there needs to be agreement among participants as to exactly what the “One Water” approach is for the region.

The program also featured a panel on transportation and mobility moderated by David Gornet of the Fort Bend Toll Road Authority, including Shane Pirtle of the 36A Coalition, Phyllis Saathaff of Port Freeport and Ike Akinwande of Fort Bend County Engineering.