ASME CATALYZE Summit to Convene Technical Leaders Driving the Next Industrial Transformation

NEW YORK (June 24, 2026) — A growing community of engineers, investors and industry leaders working to scale real-world industrial solutions will convene for the first time when the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) hosts the inaugural ASME CATALYZE Summit on April 20–21, 2027, at The Department at Hudson’s in Detroit.

The hands-on convening will bring together technical leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, industry executives and ecosystem partners working to turn breakthrough ideas into deployable industrial solutions. Designed for leaders shaping the future of energy, manufacturing and industrial systems, the summit comes at a moment when rising power demand, renewed manufacturing investment, resilience concerns and rapid advances in digital technologies are redefining what it takes to build and scale. 

ASME also announced that Oklo Inc. has joined the community as a Foundational Sponsor of CATALYZE. Oklo’s participation will bring the perspective of a company working at the frontier of advanced nuclear energy, fuel recycling and complex infrastructure development to a summit built around pragmatic problem-solving, standards, deployment and cross-sector collaboration.

“CATALYZE is built for the people working to make industrial transformation real,” said ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “This is not a traditional conference. It is an execution-focused community where technical leaders can confront the hard questions around affordability, risk, standards, workforce, financing and deployment. By bringing CATALYZE to Detroit and welcoming Oklo as a Foundational Sponsor, we are reinforcing ASME’s commitment to helping engineers and innovators move essential technologies from promise to impact.”

CATALYZE will focus on accelerating sustainable solutions across energy and industry, including meeting rising energy demand, advancing industrial transformation, and unleashing advanced manufacturing. Cross-cutting themes will include workforce development, standards, finance, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, policy and resilience planning. 

For Oklo, the CATALYZE community offers an opportunity to share lessons from working in fields where many of the necessary pathways are still being created.

“At Oklo, we talk about collaboration, humility, ownership and pathfinding because those values are essential when you are working to commercialize complex technologies and build new deployment pathways,” said Oklo Inc. co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Caroline DeWitte. “Whether it is advanced reactor licensing, fuel recycling, or building new infrastructure, there is not always a clear playbook. You have to work across disciplines, own the problem in front of you and help find the path forward. That is what we hope to bring to the CATALYZE community: a willingness to engage deeply, learn with others and help turn complex ideas into real outcomes.”

As a Foundational Sponsor, Oklo will support the summit’s mission to create a sustained community of practice for industrial transformation. 

Leading up to the Summit, ASME will continue building momentum through The Road to CATALYZE, a series of ecosystem events designed to deepen engagement across the community before it gathers in Detroit. The series will include webinars, salons and roundtable discussions held alongside major convenings such as London Climate Action Week, ASME DRIVN, and Climate Week NYC, creating additional opportunities for participants to explore shared challenges, surface practical insights and strengthen the relationships needed to accelerate deployment.

Hosting the summit at The Department at Hudson’s places CATALYZE in the center of Detroit’s continuing reinvention as a hub for manufacturing, mobility, technology and industrial innovation. The venue, located within the Hudson’s Detroit development, offers flexible event space, technology-enabled meeting environments and a setting that reflects both Detroit’s industrial legacy and its forward momentum.

ASME is developing the CATALYZE community with input from advisors and collaborators across the energy, manufacturing, technology, investment and policy ecosystems.

More information about CATALYZE, including registration, programming and sponsorship opportunities, is available at catalyze.asme.org.



About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real-world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) II & III LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org. 

About Oklo Inc.
Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, affordable energy at global scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical isotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert used nuclear fuel into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories. For more information, visit www.oklo.com.