A nation is only as strong as its ability to produce what it needs when everything else breaks down. When the pandemic arrived, the nation faced empty shelves, scarce supplies, and a level of pressure that exposed every weakness in the system.
At that time, this company stepped into the gap to deliver 27 million COVID-19 test kits in just 17 days to New York City Health and Hospitals. Shortly after, the California-based company also fulfilled an $86M federal contract to supply the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
BaRupOn LLC, which started as a small medical and healthcare business in 2014, today wants to serve the country by moving beyond healthcare into manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure. Speaking about their latest project – the Liberty American Multi-Source Power (LAMP) Innovation Campus – in Liberty, Texas, we understand the company’s aim to develop a self-sustaining “Beyond Giga” industrial ecosystem where power, production, and innovation coexist to strengthen America’s future.
Derek Matthews, CSO and electrical architect at BaRupOn, shares untold stories of the company’s major turning points, its expansion into new sectors, its feasibility study with NANO Nuclear Energy, and the largest project it has taken on to date in this exclusive interview.
1. Your expansion into power generation and energy storage comes at a pivotal moment for American manufacturing and infrastructure. How do you see BaRupOn contributing to the nation’s broader effort to rebuild and modernize critical systems over the next five years?
America is entering a new industrial era, which is defined by AI, data, automation, and energy independence. But this transformation can only succeed if it’s built on a foundation of reliable, homegrown power.
At BaRupOn, we’re helping build that foundation. The LAMP Campus in Liberty, Texas, is designed as a blueprint for what domestic resiliency can look like: a multi-source energy campus that integrates natural gas, solar, hydrogen, and battery storage to create a continuous, independent power ecosystem. Surrounding that power core, we’re developing 4.5 million square feet of innovation and data-center infrastructure, enabling next-generation industries to operate directly on reliable energy.
Over the next five years, BaRupOn’s focus is to bridge the gap between energy security and industrial growth, creating sites where America can power its factories, data, and future from within its own borders. In doing so, we’re not just modernizing infrastructure; we’re rebuilding confidence in American self-reliance.
2. You’ve described BaRupOn as a “purpose-driven” company. What does that mean in practice, especially in industries as complex and capital-intensive as energy and technology?
For us, “purpose-driven” isn’t a tagline—it’s the heart of everything we do. Purpose is what guides our decisions when the path isn’t easy or the returns aren’t immediate.
In practice, it means investing in domestic capability even when it costs more. It means choosing projects that create long-term value and local jobs, not just short-term gains. It means building infrastructure designed to last generations, not just fiscal quarters.
We’re not driven by the idea of being the biggest, we’re driven by the responsibility of being useful. Whether in healthcare, energy, or advanced manufacturing, our mission is to serve the country by building systems that endure. That’s what purpose means at BaRupOn: doing the hard work because it’s the right work.
3. Every company has defining milestones. Can you walk us through some of BaRupOn’s major projects—those that best capture your vision for sustainable growth and national resilience?
There have been several defining chapters in our journey:
- The Covid Response: Delivering 27 million test kits in 17 days for NYC H+H and fulfilling $86 million in contracts for the Strategic National Stockpile. These were our proving grounds.
- Expansion into Healthcare Infrastructure: Establishing sterile compounding pharmacies and manufacturing capabilities that strengthened our role as a dependable healthcare partner.
- The Liberty American Multi-Source Power (LAMP) Campus: A 701-acre self-sustaining industrial ecosystem in Texas that integrates energy generation, manufacturing, and technology in one place.
- Partnerships in Emerging Energy: Advancing initiatives in hydrogen and modular nuclear energy to ensure future power diversity and sustainability.
Each project has built upon the last, shaping BaRupOn into a company capable of building across sectors while staying true to its mission of resilience and reliability.
4. BaRupOn is also working on a feasibility study with NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE). What’s the mission behind that effort, and how do you see it helping nuclear energy move closer to mainstream adoption in the U.S.?
Our collaboration with NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE) represents a shared belief that nuclear power can—and must—evolve. Traditional nuclear has always been powerful but difficult to deploy. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Micro Modular Reactors (MMRs) change that equation.
Our goal is to study and demonstrate real-world industrial applications for these next-generation systems—beginning with how they can support power-intensive campuses like LAMP. By combining BaRupOn’s on-the-ground development capability with NNE’s advanced nuclear innovation, we’re helping move nuclear from the laboratory to the landscape—turning it into something practical, scalable, and safe.
If successful, this effort could mark a turning point for American clean-energy independence—and we’re proud to be part of that story.
5. Finally, your upcoming power plant in Houston has drawn attention for its scale and ambition. What does this project represent for BaRupOn, and how does it fit into the broader story of America’s energy independence and industrial renewal?
Our Houston power project represents both a milestone and a mission. It’s more than an energy facility—it’s the physical manifestation of our belief that America must own its energy future.
The plant symbolizes the convergence of everything BaRupOn stands for: industrial strength, innovation, and self-reliance. It’s designed not just to power data centers or manufacturing sites, but to anchor a new regional ecosystem where power, production, and people grow together.
For us, it’s deeply personal. We started as a small healthcare company trying to help during a crisis. Now, we’re building the kind of infrastructure that ensures the next crisis never catches our country unprepared. This project—and the broader LAMP campus—represents our contribution to America’s next century of growth: clean, strong, self-sufficient, and proudly built at home.
