If a county near us pushes toward Nuclear Ready Tier 3 status, should we be lining up now to supply the pressure vessels, forgings, or heat exchangers that SMR developers will need?

Developers like First American Nuclear and Indiana Michigan Power will need to source those components domestically, and a Tier 3 badge nearby is worth tracking as an early indicator of where that procurement will open up.

With Kratos, SK Hynix, and other large capital projects expanding across Indiana while the PJM capacity price increase climbs toward $329 per megawatt-day, what should we actually be watching?

Check whether your facility sits on the PJM or MISO side of the grid. PJM-connected plants should expect this capacity price increase to show up in demand costs before any new supply comes online.

Do we have a workforce pipeline story as sharp as LaGrange's tie to Hyundai Transys?

If your manufacturing day or career fair can't point to a named, dollar-and-jobs-specific local employer win, you're still selling manufacturing in the abstract instead of showing students a real job.

Manufacturing News TEG Daily

October 15, 2026 · Daviess · IM AEP

Indiana Nuclear-Ready Program Opens as PJM Capacity Price Increase Hits Indiana Manufacturers

Indiana's nuclear-ready program opens as the PJM capacity price increase hits Indiana manufacturers, plus Kratos, SK Hynix, and workforce news to track.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Indiana opened applications this month for its new Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities program, a three-tier designation any county, city, or township in the state can pursue to signal readiness for small modular reactor development. The push lands at the same time PJM's 2026/27 capacity price hit $329.17 per megawatt-day, up from $28.92 two years ago. That PJM capacity price increase is the exact cost pressure Indiana manufacturers sitting on the PJM side of the grid will feel in their demand costs long before any new nuclear supply comes online.

01Statewide

Indiana Opens Applications for Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities Program

The Indiana Office of Energy Development is now accepting applications under a program Gov. Mike Braun announced in July: counties, cities, and townships can apply for Nuclear Aware, Nuclear Prepared, or Nuclear Ready designation based on workforce readiness, site preparation, and formal agreements with developers. A designation does not authorize construction on its own. Indiana Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski said in the program's October news release that the framework is meant to reduce developer risk by completing site assessments and community alignment before a developer shows up.

Impact: Indiana isn't the only state chasing this: Nebraska has four SMR siting candidates already identified, Minnesota funded a statewide nuclear construction study, and North Carolina is tying fossil retirements to new nuclear, meaning Indiana's badge system is competing for a finite pool of developers like First American Nuclear (FANCO, $4B energy park, 5,000 jobs, no site yet) and Indiana Michigan Power (seeking federal funds for an Early Site Permit near Rockport). Eli Lilly's April 2026 letter of intent to study SMR feasibility at the LEAP District in Boone County suggests the real audience for a Tier 3 badge may be industrial power buyers, not just reactor builders.
Watch: Which county or township becomes the first to publicly claim Tier 1/2/3 status, and whether Indiana's parallel push for NRC Agreement State status (which would hand the state direct licensing authority) advances this winter.
For the huddle: If a nearby county or township reaches Tier 3 'Nuclear Ready' status, are we positioned to bid into the SMR supply chain (pressure vessels, heat exchangers, specialty forgings) that FANCO, I&M, and BWX Technologies will need to source domestically?

SourcesApplications Open for Indiana's Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities Program (buildingindiana.com)

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02Daviess

Kratos Breaks Ground on Radar and Hypersonics Facilities in Odon

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions broke ground on new AN/SPY-1 radar and Helios hypersonics test facilities in Odon, Daviess County, supporting Department of War modernization work tied to Naval Support Activity Crane. The buildout follows the $50 million Indiana Payload Integration Facility the company finished ahead of schedule in July. The SPY-1 facility connects to a potential $175 million Navy sustainment contract known as Project Anaconda, which would give the Navy its first in-house SPY-1 support capability independent of incumbents Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

Impact: The SPY-1 facility is tied to 'Project Anaconda,' a potential $175M Navy sustainment contract that would give the Navy its first in-house SPY-1 support capability independent of incumbents Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, a direct displacement play, not a supplement. The construction is also taxpayer-subsidized through the Department of War's IBAS program even though Kratos retains commercial pricing rights, and Kratos is carrying real speculative risk: it's targeting 10,000+ J85 engines a year by 2029 and has already placed a 3,000-engine order for 2027 production tied to Boeing's JDAM-LR munitions program, ahead of that contract being fully definitized.
Watch: Whether the IRIC radar facility hits its planned 2027 operational date, which would position Kratos to bid on next-generation SPY-6 sustainment work.
For the huddle: With Kratos, Prometheus (its RAFAEL joint venture on solid rocket motors), and NSWC Crane all clustering in the same Daviess/Martin County corridor, do we have the precision-machining or propulsion-component capacity to bid into that supply chain before it locks in with out-of-state vendors?

SourcesKratos Breaks Ground on New AN/SPY-1 Radar and Helios Hypersonics Testing Facilities in Indiana (simplywall.st)

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03Statewide

SK Hynix Ties New U.S. NAND Fab to China Equipment Approval

SK Hynix is reportedly seeking U.S. Commerce Department approval to send additional chipmaking tools to its Solidigm NAND facility in Dalian, China, as a condition for funding a new NAND plant in the United States, according to Reuters. The unfinished Dalian space, called Mod B, has sat partially equipped since the 2023 memory downturn and uses tools from Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA. The equipment at Dalian caps out at 192-layer floating-gate NAND, well below the 321- and 375-layer production SK Hynix runs in Korea, so the request is about filling existing capacity rather than a technology upgrade.

Impact: The under-reported detail is that Dalian's equipment is capped at 192-layer floating-gate NAND versus SK Hynix's 321- and 375-layer Korean fabs, so the real ask is filling existing capacity, not a technology upgrade, which changes how Commerce is likely to rule. Samsung faces a parallel, higher-stakes deadline with its Xi'an license expiring Dec. 31, 2026, making this the first test case of export-control policy used as investment leverage rather than a CHIPS-style subsidy negotiation. For Indiana, SK Hynix is simultaneously building a $4 billion HBM advanced-packaging plant in West Lafayette, meaning this Dalian negotiation runs in parallel with, and could affect capital available for, that in-state investment.
Watch: The Commerce Department's 2027 annual chip-equipment license decision for SK Hynix's and Samsung's China facilities, expected to follow the pattern of the December 2025 annual approval.
For the huddle: Does the outcome of SK Hynix's China equipment negotiation change the funding timeline or scope of its West Lafayette HBM packaging plant, and should we be tracking that filing as a leading indicator for our own supply commitments?

SourcesEXCLUSIVE: SK Hynix conditions new US factory on more US chip equipment exports to China, sources say (trendforce.com)

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04Statewide

Husted's Ohio Roundtable Tackles the PJM Capacity Price Increase Behind Indiana's Power Costs

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted hosted a roundtable in Columbus with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, state regulators, and Ohio manufacturing leaders on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, Senate Bill 5653. The bill would cap environmental assessments at one year and full impact statements at two years, set a 150-day window for NEPA lawsuits, and require data centers drawing 20 megawatts or more to cover their own power costs. The bill was written by Sens.

Impact: The bill's actual authors are Sens. Capito, Lee, Heinrich, and Whitehouse: Husted is a regional cosponsor, not the driver, and it's headed for a bicameral collision with the House's already-passed SPEED Act (221-196, no Senate companion), meaning the stricter NEPA deadlines could get watered down in reconciliation. The real driver is PJM's capacity price spike from data centers, which the Independent Market Monitor ties to $21.3 billion in elevated costs over three years from unbuilt load forecasts, costs that flow to every industrial ratepayer on the PJM grid, Indiana manufacturers included, regardless of where the data center sits.
Watch: A Senate floor vote on S. 5653 expected after lawmakers return from the October state work period, and whether Ohio's competing 'Conserve Ohio' ballot measure (a 25 MW hyperscale cap) creates a direct legal contradiction with the federal bill's acceleration goals.
For the huddle: If data-center cost-responsibility rules like the 20 MW threshold in S. 5653 become a federal floor, does that relieve or worsen the capacity-price pressure we're already seeing pass through on our PJM-connected accounts?

SourcesHusted hosts Ohio roundtable on federal permitting reform (wowo.com)

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05Statewide

LaGrange's Manufacturing Day Offers a Workforce Pipeline Lesson for Indiana

The LaGrange Development Authority in Troup County, Georgia hosted its fourth annual Manufacturing Day at West Georgia Tech, pairing students from four school districts with 28 industry partners, Georgia AIM's mobile manufacturing studio, and the Be Pro Be Proud trade initiative. LDA Director of Workforce Development Kelley Bush said the event exists to counter old stereotypes about manufacturing work and point students toward what she called the community's highest-paying jobs. Days later, Hyundai Transys announced a $560 million expansion adding 320 jobs 20 miles away in West Point, giving LaGrange's pipeline event a named employer win to point to, even though the two were never connected on purpose.

Impact: The event landed days before Hyundai Transys announced a $560 million expansion adding 320 jobs just 20 miles away in West Point, the exact kind of employer demand this pipeline event exists to serve, though the two stories were never connected editorially. Georgia AIM's mobile studio is backed by a $65 million federal EDA grant administered through Georgia Tech, a funding model Indiana workforce boards running similar trade-show events could pursue; Georgia itself ranks 5th-tightest in the U.S. for skilled labor, with only 65 available workers per 100 open positions.
Watch: Whether LDA begins tracking conversion data from this year's student engagement to prove ROI to its 28 industry partners ahead of a fifth annual event.
For the huddle: Do our own regional manufacturing-day or workforce-pipeline events have a comparable anchor employer win to point to, and are we tracking which students actually convert to applications the way LaGrange is now being pushed to do?

SourcesMANUFACTURING DAYS: Companies host local students at their sites (lagrangenews.com)

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