Sam Gibson
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF HADRON ENERGY
SAMUEL GIBSON, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO of Hadron Energy, is on a mission to revolutionize clean, firm power through microreactor technology—and his journey started with ASME. As a mechanical engineering student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Gibson reignited the university’s dormant ASME chapter during the pandemic, organizing industry talks, internship pipelines, and networking events.
“That was definitely a pivotal moment in my early career,” he said. “We grew to over 200 members,” eventually drawing companies like Tesla and Boeing to the campus. His leadership earned him both the ASME International Standards & Certification Scholar award and the Charles T. Main Global Student Leader award.
That early momentum never slowed. “I always had that entrepreneurial itch,” Gibson said. After founding and scaling an HVAC company from zero to $4 million in revenue in just eight months, he set his sights on clean energy. In July 2024, Gibson launched Hadron Energy, with support from former ASME president Mahantesh Hiremath, now a mentor and advisor to the company.
“I actually started [Hadron Energy] with Mahantesh Hiremath, who is a past president from ASME, and he’s still a very outstanding mentor to the company and advisor today.”
—Sam Gibson
Hadron is developing lightwater microreactors that produce 2 MW of electric power—ideal for data centers, remote communities, and industrial sites. Unlike experimental Gen IV designs, Hadron’s Gen III+ approach prioritizes scalability and reliability. “We’re actually not reinventing the wheel,” Gibson said. “We’re essentially repackaging it.”
The modular design allows clients to scale up power output as needed, and demand is already high. “We have 3.5 gigawatts worth of signed letter of intents to purchase our microreactors already before we even have our prototype,” Gibson noted. “We basically found product-market fit before having a product.”
In under a year, Hadron has grown to 25 employees and raised over $1 million. Its future plans include building a prototype, securing regulatory approval, and eventually mass manufacturing microreactors in-house. One unit alone, Gibson said, “will save 18,000 tons of carbon emissions per year.”
Rooted in engineering and fueled by entrepreneurial ambition, Gibson is charging ahead in the race for clean energy. “I just listen to myself and I form my own conclusions,” he said. “There’s endless amounts of people that will tell you it has to be done a certain way, but often that’s not the case.”
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