Matthew Kayser
Ports across the United States are being pushed toward full electrification, lower emissions, and rapid expansion, but their power supply cannot keep up. Nowhere is that pressure clearer than at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where cranes, cold ironing systems, and logistics networks increasingly demand more electricity than the grid can realistically deliver. The challenge is no longer just clean energy. It is reliability, abundance, and control.
That is the world Mike Wandler wants to fix. As president of L&H Industrial and CEO of Evercore Energy, he is calling for an industrial transition built on microreactors, intelligent systems, and resilient U.S. manufacturing. “I grew up inside heavy industry,” Mike says. “My whole career has been about solving big, messy problems. Energy is the biggest issue of our time.”
A New Industrial Reality
Wandler argues that the country’s power shortages threaten its economic backbone. “When a port can’t get reliable electricity, everything downstream breaks.” He points to his own experience living through rolling blackouts in South Africa. “Overnight, production became impossible. I saw with my own eyes what happens when a nation loses control of its energy system.”
Wandler believes the same warning signs are emerging in the US, especially in industrial hubs. “People talk about emissions,” he says, “but lack of reliability is a crisis. If you can’t trust your power source, you can’t run a business, a port, or a country.”
This philosophy is at the center of the Innovate Energy movement, a push for power abundance, energy reliability, and industrial energy solutions that strengthen the US infrastructure.
Why Microreactors Are the Future
Microreactors, Wandler says, offer a realistic path forward: “My father-in-law ran the original nuclear microreactors in Antarctica and the Panama Canal. He told me how reliable and safe they were. Hearing those stories changed my understanding of what’s possible.”
That influence helped fuel Wandler’s decision to found Evercore Energy, which is now pioneering nuclear microreactors for mining, mineral processing, and remote industrial customers. “For heavy industry,” he says, “microreactors are the most powerful, reliable innovation available today.”
He also emphasizes the importance of the Owner-Operating Company model. “The companies we serve shouldn’t have to become energy utilities,” he says. “We own and operate the microreactors, so businesses get stable prices, flawless reliability, and freedom to grow.”
In Wandler’s book, Innovate Energy: The Microreactor Revolution—Truth, Grit, and the Future of American Power, he discusses microreactors’ ability to restore resilience, security, and prosperity. He states that it is not politicians who will win the next energy revolution in America, but rather innovators.
American Manufacturing and Digital Intelligence
Wandler believes energy independence requires rebuilding allied-nation supply chains. “If the U.S. and its allies don’t manufacture reactors and components, we’ll be dependent on the wrong countries. Energy security starts with manufacturing security.”
He also sees digital intelligence as essential. “AI, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and digital twins will run the next generation of industrial power,” he explains. “They give us predictive maintenance, safer operations, and a level of optimization we’ve never had before.”
These tools, he argues, are already reshaping Evercore’s strategy. “A microreactor isn’t just a power source. It’s a smart system. It learns. It adapts. That’s the future.”
Powering Ports, Cranes, and America’s Industrial Backbone
As ports race toward electrification, Wandler believes microreactors offer the capacity and resilience those environments require. “Ports like LA and Long Beach can’t get the megawatts they need from the grid,” he explains. “Microreactors can sit on-site, powering cranes and ships and giving America control over its logistics lifeline.”
Wandler sees this moment as an inflection point. “Our country doesn’t need slightly cleaner energy,” he says. “We need abundant, reliable power. And we need it fast.”
For Wandler, the mission is personal and national: “This is about protecting American industry. It’s about freedom. It’s about resilience. Innovate Energy is a call to action, and we’re ready to build what the future demands.”